Comments on: The Tallahassee Reports Daily Briefs: Monday, July 17

By: A Skeptic

A Skeptic — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 14:00:10 +0000

I hadn’t needed a repair shop since the 80s. Back then I’d have breakfast every weekend at Jim & Milt’s with 5 or 6 other guys, all of which were car guys and 2 of which worked for Elmer Sheffield down on South Adams. I never prepaid anything with Sheffield’s, but with friends in the front office and in the shop it never occurred to me. 40 years later paying for parts didn’t seem out of line since they were all bolt-on (rear bumper) and I’d have paid for the parts if I intended to fix it myself. I didn’t go through small claims court. When I figured out that the guy/shop was such an overt fraud I pursued legal action against him and didn’t want to give anyone the excuse “oh, he’s repaid you now so we’re dropping the case”. And now that he’s skipped town, of course, small claims and/or lawyers are just throwing good money after bad.

By: Nicholas Weed

Nicholas Weed — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 20:29:27 +0000

If you had to pay up front for the parts that is a good indication that you need to turn around and run as fast as you can. Then find a repair shop where you don’t prepay until all the work is completed with a guarantee.

I have dealt with a second rate repair shop before on a big repair and they were referred to me by TPD! Fortunately a corporation involved in the accident who was at fault was paying the bill, but the repair just took so long and would promise a completion date that went on for months.

Have you tried filing a complaint in small claims court?

By: A Skeptic

A Skeptic — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 19:53:04 +0000

@Nicholas — It was a vehicle repair (body shop). They’re regulated by the Department of Agriculture Consumer Services, where I’d started my complaint after being shunned by TPD. I’d had a minor accident, received a check from Geico, the at-fault driver’s insurer, and took the vehicle to the “wrong” shop. The work was supposed to have been done at Lisa’s, but unknown to me she had moved and her old location was occupied by a new shop. My phone’s search app still had Lisa’s at the old address so I went in to ask what had happened to Lisa’s and was lied to. Since I needed the vehicle fixed, I arranged for the to fix it and prepaid enough to order the obvious parts. (I shouldn’t have done that.) After that it was a fight. I never saw proof that they’d ordered the parts, couldn’t get my money back, and couldn’t get the vehicle repaired.

By: Nicholas Weed

Nicholas Weed — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 18:33:32 +0000

What was the business, who was the owner, what kind of work were you having done, did you write a review, did you file a report with the Better Business Bureau, did you contact the news, etc?

By: A Skeptic

A Skeptic — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 17:27:23 +0000

@Little Flower. I thought that I had pulled in the “big guns” and contacted the State’s Attorney’s office. I had done my homework on the guy, including his history of “failed businesses”, business(es) that were impacted by his deceit, and insurers that had already had so much trouble from the business that they were sending their claimants elsewhere. After hearing nothing from them for several months I sent a letter to the top of that pile, and soon thereafter got a phone call from someone there who gave me a status. A while later I got an email from someone asking me for my documentation on the problem. When I got no further contact I tried to reach him, but he never answered his phone, nor did he return my message(s). When I noticed the business closed, I finally got a response that amounted to, “His business is closed now so we’ve done our job. If you want to try and get your money back you could hire a lawyer.”

The felons seem to have free range today. Unfortunately, this ain’t the old west and Joe Average can’t “work it out” directly with the crooks.

But I’m not above beating a dead horse, either. Moody’s office will be my next stop!

By: Little Flower

Little Flower — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:34:33 +0000

@A Skeptic, you should contact the Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Senior Protection Team. According to their website, they help Floridians 60 and older who are victims of fraud.

By: A Skeptic

A Skeptic — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 13:53:24 +0000

I had a local business defraud me of over $2,500 last summer. I walked into the police station, spoke with the officer on the front desk, and said that I wanted to file a report of a felony fraud on somebody over 65. Not only did the officer decline to put me in contact with anyone to take the report, his only response was to “work it out with your insurance company”.

The guy has since closed his business and left town so I’m out the money.

Somehow, I feel like any overt action that I’d taken to recover the money directly from the business wouldn’t have been ignored so casually.

By: NE Moderate

NE Moderate — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 13:17:31 +0000

Dianne Williams-Cox, Curtis Richardson and John Dailey are raising our property taxes. Same people who gave us Reese Goad and the current ineffective police chief who has offered nothing but excuses despite having the biggest part of the City budget.

We must finally reject the old guard establishment in 2024