AboutJim Meadows Expertise I can respond to most questions concerning consumer and business relationships with US financial institutions. My expertise touches on deposit and loan issues and particularly on strategies to navigate through bank policies personell and practices. I have a degree in Economics, attended law school, Graduate Shool of Banking, and Commercial Lending and Compliance Schools.
Experience I have twenty years experience as a bank CEO. Most of those years were spent operating a bank focused primarly on serving consumer/retail needs. I helped pioneer deposit and loan products for low/moderate income individuals. I currently serve on multiple bank boards and am Chairman of a Commercial Bank in Atlanta.
Question I sold my boat couple weeks ago to someone who had $200 cash and wrote a check for $500 and he took the boat sale was final. Couple days later the bank called saying that he "stopped payment." I wrote the man an email and told him his check was stopped and he said he felt that it was/is only worth $200 now!!!! I want to know if there is anyway I could get the money without going to court (dont really have the funds to take him to court) I mean dont we have a right to get that money? I have a bill of sale but now I have a bill of sale and stopped check and now out of $500 and no boat......sure scammed me but what are my rights?
Answer Nicole, As you've suggested,sounds like you have been cheated Your choices are: civil suit in small claims court,repossessing the boat or possibly criminal charges (not usually practical since most DA's won't prosecute something so small).
You might try writing the buyer telling him that unless you are paid or the boat returned within 5 days that you will file suite and report him for "passing a bad check". As a last resort you also have the option of compromising and taking less than the full amount Jim
