Help! I gave a painter a $750 deposit to paint my house, and after 1 day he dissapeared. I tracked him down...
535508
Unfortunately scams like this happen so much that the government can't help everyone.  My mom was also scammed out a few hundred dollars.  Report him on the internet with pic and everything so people get an idea to avoid him so that he can't dupe anyone else.  Involve the media in your area.  Some news organizations like to take on stories like your and they help many people as well that are in your position.  I hope this helps.  We couldn't do anything about the guy that scammed us.  We did follow him to his house and found that he lives quite comfortably in a condo most likely purchased from the stolen money he took from many people.
716724
can you charge them for miss conduct? they promised to do a job they haven't done?\n\nis it the agencies responsibility to clear mess left by a tenant? isn't that why private tenants pay security deposits?\n\nask a solicitor, you will get 30Min's free from some. nothing is worse than a ripped off feeling, i do hope you get sorted soon and maybe you should raise your security deposits to cover any losses in the future. there are some really nasty people out there.
129705
you'll have to prove the whole story. i hope you did a move-in written walk through inspection and took a few pictures as a prudent person would do when renting a house.  otherwise, it's his money.
1066035
contact bbb and see if they have any reports similar to yours on him
1129377
F************HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!\n\nTELL HIM TO FILE A POLICE  REPORT!!!  \nLET THE AUTHORITIES HANDLE IT!\n\nYOU WERE NICE ENOUGH TO LET HIM STORE HIS 'HOME' THERE!!!!\n\nHE NEEDS MONEY!!  \nUNDERSTAND THIS!  BUT IS IT WORTH \n'YOUR FRIENDSHIP'?\n\nHE SEE'S AN EASY PAYDAY!  \nHE WOULD!\nHE LIVES IN A TRAILER!!!!!!!!!\nGIVE HIM SOME PORK HOT DOGS AND BEANS AND SEND HIM ON HIS WAY!!!!!\n\n\nYOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!
760144
You can consider taking him to small claims court. You won't need a lawyer for that. The information about how to do it is available from your local court system in your community. If you file a small claim and he fails to respond or show up, you will get a default judgement. That will allow you to attach to any property (real estate) and perhaps go after any payroll with a garnishment. For $1500, I would definately nail his asss to the wall.
256619
If you have the contract and the deposit ticket you can sui them, but sometimes it will cost you more depending on the lawyer and the time, but you'll finally get your money back. If the deposit is less than you could invert in time and lawyers, just forget about it, though if you want to teach them a lesson, they should build your house for free!
680066
My roommate got caught in the same scam. The girl told him she loved him and sh*t like that. Saying that she needed him to cash the money order, and send the money to her sister. He got screwed out of 120,000 bucks. He went to the police but there was nothing they could do. That was over two years ago and he's still paying back the bank. Really sad that people are still falling for the scam now...even sadder that the people are keeping up the scam. At least you're smart and know it was a scam. What the police told my ex roommate was that there's no way to tell who the person is, so the most you can do is report it to yahoo. They'll pull the account, but they'll only create another one and be back out doing it in ten mins.
1061100
Absolutely zilch! A furniture co. recently took my money, never delivered products worth 2500.00, then closed up shop. 2 months before close, I knew this was going to happen because the owners kept ducking me. So, I contact BBB. A bunch of mumbo jumbo---we're right on it. We'll file a report. ZILCH. By the time they got to my case, the store was shutdown. If you really want a better shot (also depends on the circumstances), call local authorities. I am dead serious. I called the DA's office here in SF--the consumer fraud division--those guys are on shady business practice sooo fast. Again, not sure what your situation is or how much but take care of it before the possibility of those scrupulous owners filing bankruptcy. When that happens, you are as good as SOL.
499060
Get another roommate as fast as you can and sue the deadbeat in small claims.  The landlord will hold you responsible for the entirety of the lease.  The landlord is not required to go after the other guy for half, he can go after you for all of it.  I am sorry this happened to you.  I hope you can get another person to pick up half of the rent.  \n\nAlso, do talk to the landlord, see if offering to spiff the place up, and run ads at your expense, if you find a new tenant willing to sign a new lease with them, will they let you out of the lease.  \n\ngood luck!
138575
You should always be able to call your local police department. If it is something out of their comfort zone and/or authority, they'll be able to refer you elsewhere. Unless you've actually incurred monetary damages (loss of income, significant fees to get things back to normal, etc.), my instinct is that there will be little that can actually be done. If you have an attorney and if you know who this person really is (not just a screen name or some such), you could ask your attorney to write a letter to this individual. Again, legally speaking, there may not be much that can be done, but a letter from an attorney will likely scare the living crap out of this person. Something else you may want to do is see if there is an InfraGard chapter in your area. They will likely have resources and suggestions for you, as well. It may even be worth checking into reporting the incident to CERT/CC.
537977
You are in breach of contract and costs will start running up for your liability, until he gets his property back. You will not make any friends.\nMaster.
892547
Check with the post office, send a letter to the old address and ask to be notified of the forwarding address. Check with his references, they may know where he is, check with his job too.If he's still there, you may be able to send it there. If you have his social , you can go on a people finders site and find him. \n I believe you can also post in the paper for 3 consecutive weeks- then go to court and if he doesn't show it's his problem. After you get a judgment,he will appear sooner or later. \n One cool trick I found was to get references, call them and then ask if they would co-sign. If the references say no- do not rent to that person- they know him! If they say yes, I tell them it's not necessary, I just want to know how much they trusted them. Works great!!
1157674
Contact all credit companies NOW. Tell them you Will not guarantee any additional purchases and you want the account closed. Follow up with a written letter. Keep a log of everyone you call with time and date.  Request a copy of his loan balance and the agreement you signed.   You need to establish a "cut off" point so if the credit companies continue to extend credit it will be at their own risk not yours.\n\nNext ask the "dead beat" if he has anything to sell you to pay off his debt. (Get anything you can. Something is better than nothing.) make a list of what you get and how much it is worth. Send that amount into the credit companies directly. Don't give the money to the "dead beat".  Ask for a lien on his car. Tell him that will help you get a loan if needed to pay off his debt.\n\nNow it's 10 days later. Ask the "dead beat" how much he can pay each month towards the debt. Don't put him into a situation he can't live with it will just be a bigger problem.  Now call the credit companies ask ask for a reduction in interest rate and a payment schedule that you can afford.\n\nNow comes the time to KICK yourself in the butt for doing a "verbal" agreement and letting it go this far.
773722
He was supposed to make out the check to the estate, though he could have been kind enough to make it out to the sibling to make it a little easier. But as far as taking money out to replace a carpet, that's his responsibility. Normal wear and tear is the landlord responsibility. He is required to either clean or replace the carpet and paint the apartment when a tenant moves out and before a new one moves in. He sounds sheisty to me. Tell him if he doesn't make the full check out to the estate you will sue him in small claims court for the return of the full deposit. Good luck.
783788
No No andNo.   I just saw a news broadcast (locally) that spotlighted the lingering long term effects about this very scenario.......You need to call your health dept and find out if the landlord had it "Properly" cleaned out.....fresh paint doesn't cut it!!!!
239182
Report him and the agency to the BBB as well....other people need to be aware of this guy..what city and state is he in? That way we can avoid him