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>He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report.
Hello, officer? The man I filed a report on? Yes, he's here attempting to intimidate me into dropping the report.
For real tho, fair play to her seeing this through. David sounds like an arse.
I wish she had, how funny would it have been if she actually did call the cop and his smug smile vanished when she reported his coercion right in front of him!
Many years ago I had several serious and viable threats against my life. I filed a police report and in this report I clearly put in that I do not believe that Bob, Bill, Stan, Charles and Steve were responsible for these threats but they could likely provide you with a direction to take the investigation. [NOT the real names.]
About a year later they had me hauled in front of my own union’s Executive Board (of which I was the Chair) and demanded that I reach out to the police to have their names removed from the report.
Even though I explained that I clearly reported that they likely were not responsible, the police would not remove their names—only amend the report to include the intimidation tactics used to try to coerce me into clearing their names.
I explained that if ANYTHING were to happen to me after that—death (accidental or not) or even bring abducted by aliens into the Mother Ship—they would be the prime suspects.
These guys weren’t the sharpest pencils in the box and could not grasp what I was telling them and still demanded satisfaction.
I totally ignored them.
That’s right, officer. He’s trying to intimidate me into giving him a discount, too. I don’t know what Tough Guy David needs so many flowers for, but I bet the rest of the jail will get a real kick out of it
>He said I had no right involving the police and it was so far out of line that I need to appease him somehow with a discount on more flowers.
I'd like to imagine that the fool actually used "appease" in his demand. The mental image amuses me.
I hope OOP added a $50 “bad check fee.” It’s likely their bank charged them something for it, and in any case it took a lot of OP’s time they could have spent doing more flowers.
I used to be a teller. We had a person coming in to cash a check on a notoriously broke customer. She came in dozens of times. One time, I looked at his account history and told her that she should come back early on a certain date. She came back at opening, and he was flush enough for that check to go through. When he came in to withdraw his money, he was mad, but I showed him the check he signed. I told him I checked the signature card. If he didn’t want to pay that money, he shouldn’t have written that check 🤷♀️
This reminds me of the dognapper who stole Lady gagas's dog, then went to court for the finders reward and actually believed she was entitled to the reward regardless of her being the one who stole the dog. Some people have zero decency.
I just looked this up - I guess Lady Gaga's reward said "no questions asked." And I'm assuming when she posted the reward she was partly targeting the dog nappers themselves, so she deliberately tricked them. Legally, with no context, I think she should have paid it out, but can't complain about Gaga scamming the scammers and not wanting to reward dognappers.
It has longstanding repercussions in society if a crime is being rewarded by the courts. The finders reward is void if you're responsible for the dog vanishing in the first place, or so, i think, at least. It was a good judge ruling because WTF if that ruling started to take precedent.
I can see where he/she are coming from. It's sort of implied in the "no questions asked" part, so an honest person *might* think Gaga should pay out there. However, you can't treat people like the dognapper with that level of honesty and they deserved to be brought to justice. I think it just goes to show that person's level of integrity. My initial reaction was also that the napper should be paid but I have an unrealistic expectation of fairness (in my opinion lol).
There's an established principle in law that you should not be able to benefit from a crime you committed. So, for example, if you are in someone's will and you kill them because you want that money, you cannot then collect the money. (This is also why famous murderers/serial killers aren't allowed to profit by, say, writing their memoirs.)
Aside from that, I must say that I really don't see the fairness in paying a dognapper for "finding" dogs they stole – even if the reward is advertised as "no questions asked". But I am even more firmly against it when the dognapper also shoots the dog walker in order to steal the dog(s).
Right, the 'no questions asked" return for a reward part is extrajudicial. The person wants the dog back enough that they've said they will look away from the crime. It's not reciprocal nor do I think it serves any justice. However, if your idea of fairness is to keep up your end of a deal then I can see why someone could argue that she should pay them the "reward" (ransom more or less). You could even take into account the wealth difference.
The bounced check is already theft and bank fraud (I've had to go to court as a witness for this once). His *ability* to pay it is besides the point & the state should be prosecuting him regardless due to his obvious propensity.
Since he likes the hot water, though, I'd call that in to the cops as well and frame it as an attempted robbery, assault and harassment. The standard is whether *a normal person would feel "apprehension of physical harm" or basically physically intimidated by a person with the ability to do so* (no physical touch is necessary, all you need is a threat either implicit or explicit) Check, check, check. He checks off the whole list.
Hello, Po-po? I'd like to report an attempted robbery & assault. The man who wrote that bounced check came back in and demanded I hand over more of my products. He was very scary and intimidating. He said I have to appease him"
At the very least, I'd ask for a restraining order and a trespass warning where the police let him know he's not allowed in that store again or he will be arrested.
Oh, definitely. I just feel like the framing of the situation is important to getting the result you want. He attempted to steal from her& then came in to further harass& intimidate. I saw this as OP needed what she was experiencing to be put into context for her to realize that someone demanding that she "appease" him is a threat and an escalation of the situation. She should document it as such for her own safety
He was just a garden variety bully and thought he could push her around bcoz she is young and female. I hope they still go through with prosecuting him, it sounds like he is a menace to small businesses.
At that point, the only response is "Fuck you, pay me." Anything he says, that's the response. The only exception is if he is saying "Here is the money, in cash," in which case the response is "Let me get my counterfeit detection pen." Followed by "Get the fuck off my property and never return" once you confirm the money is real.
Dude has to know that writing bad checks is illegal since it sounds like this is a habit. I'm surprised his bank hasn't dropped him and blacklisted him.
That strategy works fine, but only if you have a net worth above $100 million. DJT devotees tend to forget that - immunity from consequences is for the rich, and for those who raid treasuries and rob states. Not for random idiots who defraud flower shops one at a time.
Idk, Trump has shafted plenty of small businesses too. If Trump was held accountable in this situation I imagine it'd go something like this:
As the greatest flower expert in the world, I'm truly sickened by the horrible selection presented by your so-called "flower shop." Believe me, I've seen flowers, beautiful flowers, the best flowers, and what you delivered to me is nothing short of a disaster. SAD! I paid a tremendous $400, big bucks, for a bouquet that looks like it was put together by amateurs and this is what I'm being sent to court over? I demand a full refund and an apology for wasting my time with your low-energy flowers. We're going to make flower shops great again when I win the election against Sleepy Joe (who many people say is leading this witch hunt).
Its like he saw the stuff Donald Trump has gotten away with over the years and figured he could get away with it at a much smaller scale. Only he forgot that the only reason Trump got away with similar scams is because he was rich and the same laws don't apply to rich guys.
If the cops know you by name and laugh when people make a police report about you, they are *itching* to find something that sticks. Dude is on borrowed time. He's gonna end up in criminal court for some financial thing or traffic court because all the local cops are sick of his shit and will find any tiny thing they can to ticket him for.
I had someone try to screw me for $5k, ended up costing them well in excess of $30k. I opted to lose that $5k to really dig the knife in. Hope OOP sends them my way.
Not OP, but lawsuits can be expensive. My state small claims court allows you to recover your court fees, and some state laws also let you recover attorneys fees and multiple damages in some cases (for example, landlord security deposit violations, home improvement contractor projects, unfair or trade practices…).
So the other guy might have to pay for a lawyer, for your lawyer, and for 3x what they owe plus interest
Honestly he's lucky OOP has good self restraint. If he came in to demand a shop owner drop charges, and that shop owner happens to have a hot temper.... Dude could've gotten his ass beat pretty bad over threats like that.
He wouldn't have done it if OOP weren't a young woman. If it'd been a man, he'd maybe have tried the whole, "But we're duuuudes, we're friends, right? We'll totally have beers around my grill at weekend, won't we? And you'll meet all my famous friends and neighbours!" All that schmooze. But because OOP was young and a woman, and naive, he went with very 'brave' posturing.
What an arse, and a complete bully.
Yup. Sometimes, it takes one person to not buckle under to the pressure from the dirtbag and the situation changes tremendously.
When I was 17, I got jumped by my crazy ex-girlfriends crazy cousin. When I was being interviewed by police and stated I wanted to give a statement, and would testify, their faces lit up. Like kids finding out they get a second Christmas level of lit up. Turns out the guy was involved in 6 separate current investigations, from welfare fraud to mid-level dealing/low-level distribution, sexual assault and witness intimidation. He was held pending trial due to flight risk and witness intimidation risks. He plead guilty, did 3 months pre-plead, and did 9 months I'm custodial sentence plus probation, etc. While he was locked up on 5 charges from my case, the cops used my case as an example to encourage others involved in the other cases. The end result was about 70 charges with extremely good odds at conviction. I don't know what the final count was on pleas, trial convictions or time served.
Oh yeah, it wasn't because I was particularly brave that I was able to stand up to him. I moved 1100km to live in a small town with family , and it was before social media lol.
I mean, knowingly writing cold checks is a crime, and once you've done it multiple times, it's obvious that you know what you're doing. He's still getting away with it because the cops are doing nothing, really.
Yeah, honestly that tracks. Loud, brash dimwitted manchild of a guy who stiffs his contractors and doubles down on his aggrieved rage when confronted about it.
Yeah, if he's this familiar with the cops, he's probably on parole or probation and will be put back in jail if he has ANY charge.
So that's why he ran is his chicken butt down there to get this taken care of before charges were filed and begged the guy to drop them.
I don't understand why he isn't charged with theft.
Imagine if shoplifting was consequence free like this...2 weeks later you get a call from a cop "ah! We got you! No free stuff for you..come in and pay you silly goose".
That is probably the best case scenari of or that guy. I think one day he will try to scam the wrong person and end up wearing cement shoes at the bottom of a deep lake.
This dude reminds of my landlord. Absolute nickel-and-diming scumbag who drags his heels on necessary repairs runs through workers like water because of shit like this. Assholes like this bank on scaring you into submission because the moment authorities are involved, they know they’re screwed.
Sounds like my ex-landlord. Had to sue him to get several square metres of black mold removed from the wall that separates the bathroom (there was a leak in the wall - in my jurisdiction, infrastructural issues are the landlord’s responsibility, not the renter’s) and bedroom. I wasn’t the only tenant who had that problem - several others had had it in the past too, and that slumlord was a known name amongst lawyers in the housing and tenancy specialty.
He tried to intimidate me (back then a woman in her early twenties) with phone calls several times, and even stood there screaming bloody murder at me the day of the repairs (which until the last minute were not even certain to happen because he was stalling the process and preferred to intimidate me into dropping the case instead). That arsehole lived in a multi million euro mountain vista residence (which I know because i handed in my termination of rent contract personally with a witness - dude also had a habit of claiming important mail never reached him, of course, so that’s why i drove there myself with a witness) while his renters were rotting in moldy apartments. I hope that slumlord died painfully to his (very obvious - dude‘s head was permanently as red as a turkey’s face - and he was fairly old, so just a matter of time) high blood pressure or Corona.
I work for a county government agency that doesn't handle mold, but we get calls for it so often that I compiled a list of resources for this exact situation. I gave it to my coworkers and they hand it out too. I include multiple legal resources and information on specific laws that clearly demonstrate landlord responsibilities. I direct them to a few different agencies that can help and hope at least one of them has the staff to do something.
It is depressing how often I have to give this out. I had an elderly woman on the phone a few weeks ago who was sobbing because the mold in her home wasn't being taken care of bc the people responsible for it were shopping around for the cheapest mold removal.
She thanked me for listening to her and for giving her resources despite it not being my job. I felt horrible anyways because that's the extent of what I can do. Landlords are parasites.
I was thinking of my old landlord the whole time too.
Tried to make us live with no running water for 2 days until I told him I knew our rights and he could pay for a hotel if he didn’t want to pay for the emergency plumber. We couldn’t go without any water for 2 days! We wouldn’t have even been able to use the toilet or wash our hands >_>
The plumber magically had an opening that night… what a shocker.
I feel like this is true for all the squatter posts I see. They tell them not to throw their stuff out or change the locks because that’s illegal but these people aren’t operating by the letter of the law, they’re bending it and expecting you to play by the rules which keeps you in an endless loop of running to the authorities about the problem who can’t actually do anything about the problem, at least not for months or years down the road.
So don’t play their game. If they have no proof they’re a legal tenant (because of course they don’t) and they don’t have a working key to your residence and they probably don’t have the kind of money necessary to actually go after you legally and even if they did that would require they explain to lawyer how this situation came about which would require that they self incriminate… so you’ve got some weird trespasser on your property who seems to be experiencing some sort of delusion about having lived in your property and you would like the cops to remove them post haste as you feel unsafe, please and thank you. YMMV based on your/their race and gender though.
This is one of those things where you could remove their stuff when they leave the house and then play ignorant/innocent and let _them_ fight you in court for right to live in your place instead of _you_ trying to get them legally kicked out.
Yeah it’s like a game of chicken. Whoever calls the cops first loses the game except the squatter knows that being the one to call the cops will immediately screw them over so they have to goad the other person into calling the cops and oops now it’s on record that you tried to make the cops “illegally” evict a “tenant” so now you have to go through the appropriate channels to evict them. You basically give them a checkmate.
Imagine the total and utter lack of moral compass for someone to walk into a new start-up, *selling flowers no less*, and deliberately hand over a bad cheque. *And then to complain about involving the police for theft & fraud*. That jackass is probably a VP somewhere.
He's probably a [DIRECTOR of OPPERATIONS](https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/sl17a8/the_saga_of_the_director_of_operations_and_what/)
Omg! I remember that post and the utter insanity that swirled around it as redditors went and looked at his posts and then his wife’s post. Lord that was a dumpster fire circus for sure. Thanks for reminding me of that one. I needed a good belly laugh today.
Always cover your costs when you take an order : a deposit of about half. You charge the balance when they pick it up, plus any taxes. If they stiff you at least you have your costs covered.
In my experience the only people who ever bitched about this were those who tried to stiff me.
I’m not in the US … almost no one uses them anymore here. And I wouldn’t accept a cheque from anyone anymore. Almost all my clients pay by an e-transfer straight from their bank account, or cash.
I work at a bank, and sadly, yes. Checks are still very popular with businesses and many consumers. I'd say it's very rare for anyone under 30 to write a check though.
> Is it really common to use checks in the USA?
For some things.
It's pretty common for rent. It's also the most convenient way to pay some government fees (they always lag behind when it comes to tech).
Very uncommon for everything else.
I work in the equine sector and checks are extremely common. Not so much at a store front, but paying your monthly board, vet bills, etc. I also accept wire transfer, cash, credit cards, PayPal, etc, but an overwhelming amount of people still pay by check. Mostly the ones with large businesses or older folks.
Or just don’t accept cheques.
Why anyone is still taking a payment method where you’re literally gambling on actually getting paid for your services is beyond me.
It’s mostly people that they have known and it’s few and far between. Some companies still issue paper checks. Idk why things go the way they do,or people do things the way they want to.
Businesses where I live don't accept cheques at all anymore. Even small businesses like a roadside flower stall will either be cash only or will have a Square terminal set up.
What a complete and utter dumbass. Going through this whole process of thievery and then paying in full is fundamentally paying more money in the end than simply paying the price at the beginning. Logically makes no sense to me. Especially if he's a regular with the cops? Terrible conman.
I don’t think the objective of his con is money, I think it’s that he gets off on fucking people over. Whether it’s a $400 flower arrangement or a $2 candy bar, the infliction of pain upon others in the point.
I'm not sure I'd characterize it as "infliction of pain" being the point. A lot of these types are looking to "get one over on other people". They've done studies on these sorts of dickheads. If you put out something like a box of fundraising candy bars with an honor system donation box in the areas the low-level employees occupy, they will pay, or pay more than what is requested. Put that box where the C-levels have their offices and you're going to lose money and have to make up the difference for the cost of the fundraiser box out of your own pocket. I mean, I don't really want some crappy chocolate but hey, why not stuff some bills in the box and grab a treat to help out whatever school program they're fundraising for.
Is “getting one over on someone” not inflicting pain to some degree? When I say pain I’m using that term very generally to mean shame, humiliation, or really any negative experience ranging from mild annoyance/inconvenience to unbearable suffering. I agree that some people who do selfish things are so wrapped up in themselves that they are unaware of the effects their actions are having on other people, I’d even say that some percentage of people like that would feel remorse and change their behavior if those effects were brought to their attention. But some people are actually sadistic; they do selfish things not only knowing it’s going to hurt someone else, but because it’s going to hurt someone else.
>He is an abuser with an ego, and he is not doing as well as you are, but makes sure that fact is hidden under his brash-ness and chest-out-ness.
Damn what a brilliant comforting line!
She absolutely should post his picture on the wall.
One of my local stores does this with the pictures of past shoplifters. It's never kids either, it's always full grown adults that know better.
First, let me say I Do Not Recommend handling the situation this way - my Dad is lucky he never got shot, but reading this brought back memories…
My parents had a convenience store and occasionally took checks from people they thought they could trust. The store was near a road that had many new and used car lots. A salesman bounced a couple checks, probably totaling about $60, but this was in the early 2000’s. The guy would not return my Dad’s calls, and my Dad knew which used car lot he worked at. So he took his baseball bat to the lot, and he got his money back. Nothing bad happened, thank goodness, I think my dad threatened to take a tail light out on his car. Another salesman paid the $60 for the guy and we never saw him again. The other salesmen still came in and told us they didn’t like the guy, and he didn’t last long at the lot. As I said, I don’t recommend this method, my Dad’s lucky he never came across anyone nuttier than him.
Whenever I make a large purchase at a store (i.e. above my daily-limit) I use a bank draft, because it's easily verifiable, functions debitally, and removes the hassle of both calling my bank to answer questions to a French person or carrying around a bunch of stupid bills.
Definitely not an American thing. I can't think of a single store near me that doesn't have a sign that says "Will not accept personal checks."
The last time I dealt with checks was when I was a property manager and only two of my tenants used them out of 180 units. The rest paid online or with a money order.
Honestly, the only thing I use checks for anymore is specifically to give money to family. Some of use use a bank that doesn't have many physical locations, so it's sometimes easier to write a check for remote deposit vs messing with account and routing numbers.
>He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report.
You know, I just might have called the officer while he was there and told him that "David --- is in my shop right now and I could use your help getting him to leave."
> **Update on the guy who wrote me a bad check: he has PAID IN FULL.**
I don't know if you're being serious or not, or maybe you skipped the line, but I've copied & pasted it here for you...
Honestly its very uncommon for information to only be in a title and not the body. Especially on a update post. I didn't register it either.
I stopped reading after Update on the guy who wrote me a bad check
As a non-American - what the fuck? Is it still commonplace to accept cheques? I hope OOP wins but wow, considering he was trying not to pay at all why are they surprised he wrote a bad cheque? Who accepts cheques as payment?!
Cheques are for your gran or grandad to gift you money for your birthday. Any business accepting cheques is gambling with their time and money.
I'm glad this worked out for OOP, she sounds sweet and trusting and it's sad that he trounced on that trusting nature but its possible he saved her from a worse customer.
Fun Fact: In the US to file a small claim ($2500 or less IIRC) you just walk into the courthouse for the area where the infraction occurred and ask to file a claim, they give you a form, you fill it out and hand it over, and pay the fee.
If the judge believes that this was done deliberately or in \*bad faith\* (with intent to deceive or as an habitual offender) he/she can award treble (3x) damages to the claimant so OOP could have gotten $1200 from future Davids, since this David would have run to pay her before the court date.
I’m gonna laugh my ass off when he does this to someone with little to no regard for self-preservation and they just straight up try to mulch his ass. It will be well deserved and a long time coming.
Checks don't "go bad". Every time you present this to his bank and there are insufficient funds the bank will charge him a fee. You can present it as often as you want. I recommend going silent for a couple of months and then present it to the bank again. If you are not bothering him he might put money in that account and the check would be honored. I did this for 3 months worth of bounced rent checks I received before the tenant skipped in the middle of the night. I presented it on the first of the month, three months later, hoping they had direct deposit of their paycheck. There were funds in the account and all three checks were honored.
>He said I had no right involving the police and it was so far out of line that I need to appease him somehow with a discount on more flowers. He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report.
"Suck my dick."
> He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report.
I would have smiled and been like "of course I'll call him back." Then do so, wait til he shows up... immediately drop the smile to "stone cold business woman" and say "Officer, this man is now threatening and harassing me, is there a way to amend the charge to add more?"
Then look back to the guy and ask, "Is that what you meant?"
I once accepted a custom order from a coworker for 6 dozen chocolate truffles. I didn't collect a deposit. She never picked them up so I never got paid. Now i require payment in full when accepting custom orders.
This almost exact thing happened to me at my work.
Guy wrote a check for a $500 purchase - at first i told him we don’t take checks (not entirely true, we just try not to take them for these EXACT reasons) but he was soooo nice I just said okay no big deal. Left his number because he wanted to special order something, i got his license and address for the check and it fkn came back insufficient funds. It was a CLOSED account 🙃 i felt so dumb, offered to pay back my boss and everything.
Boss ended up calling the local police, who called the police where he lived, and left him a message giving him 2 days to pay or else they were showing up to arrest him. Magically the money was under the shop door the next morning! Never took a check after that.
Knowingly writing a bad check is considered fraud.
$400 is usually a misdemeanor. With his past history and the officer knowing the guy I guarantee there is a history of him writing bad checks.
That history is a good way to establish probable cause he does it intentionally. Usually I do the same thing with bad checks. Contact the person. Tell them to pay up, or charges will be pressed. More often than not it solves the situation.
The US has gotta be the only country where checks are still regularly used like this right? It's bizarre to me to even consider taking a payment of this amount with a check vs bank transfer or card payment.
It's so wild to me that cheques are still used in the US enough so that OP would accept it as a form of payment. The only time I have seen a cheque in my life is when I have over paid a credit card or a loan
If the cheque was drawn from a local bank, go into the branch in person and advise them that he’s passing bad cheques. It’s grounds for them to close his accounts and exit him as a customer. A notation goes in his credit bureau if that happens, and it can stop other banks from opening accounts for him, or at least harshly limit his ability to funds. The fact that he gave you cheque 003 but he’s well known for passing bad cheques suggests that this may have already happened at least once at a different bank.
"Hello, officer. Yeah, that guy who wrote the bad check and I made a complaint on? He's here now harassing and threatening me, could you come here right now? I don't feel safe. Thanks!"
Then hang up, put down the phone, and stare this guy in the eyes with as evil and amused expression as you can muster.
Paying a store by cheque (or “check” for Americans) is the weirdest thing to me as someone from outside the US. Why would a store accept this archaic and fraud prone method of payment?
I love stories like these where shitheads lose and justice prevails. I just wish something more could've been done. He's probably not learned his lesson
My wife used to work for collections in a very small business. Her way of getting paid was this: Do a little research on the person that bounced the check and find out when they get paid, or when their employer disburses. Next step is to take the bounced check to the bank it's issued from and go in person to cash it, and she was on their doorstep when it opened on pay-day.
Man she got some nasty phone calls from the people she was collecting from... Of course they are the ones that spend their entire paycheck on the day it's issued so she caused a lot more bounced checks for them.
But it was the quickest and most efficient method of getting collection money and much easier than small claims/judgments.
I don't know if they still do but many years ago a Hells Angels chapter ran a debt collection agency. For a mere 15% they would rock up.in full colours to collect the debt .
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that you can report a hot check to the local District Attorney's Office and they will reimburse you quickly, +$25-$50 bucks extra.
Then the DA can prosecute and collect from the delinquent and the business owner can go on with their lives.
Call the police and file a report. It happens at my business from time to time and on checks as low as $49. I've gotten paid the check amount plus $25 returned check fee everytime. Apparently the police going to their residence, telling them it is illegal to purposely write bad checks and if they are willing to pay with 7 days, the business owner will not press charges.
The only exception I had to this is a crooked vendor whose checks for my money he misused bounced. I'm slowly getting it back in restitution as he was convicted for check fraud(in excess of 5k makong it a felony) and has his wages garnished. His plead deal was no jail provide he didn't miss any restitution payments. Had to wait a few years cause he was arrested by feds and spent 3 years in prison for payroll tax theft. As soon as he got out I started receiving it.
I had a customer write a $45k check that bounced. Luckily it was for a stock so there was something to recover. He too is a known scumbag. When my attorney started digging, he said we can pursue but we’d be about 12th in line. Years later he got banned by the MN Twins for aggressively going after foul balls, like stealing them from little kids and stuff. He also did a short stint in jail over a ticket scalping scheme. I write a comment in every news story about him that he’s a scam artist and writes bad checks. Glad this story has such a happy ending.
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>He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report. Hello, officer? The man I filed a report on? Yes, he's here attempting to intimidate me into dropping the report. For real tho, fair play to her seeing this through. David sounds like an arse.
I wish she had, how funny would it have been if she actually did call the cop and his smug smile vanished when she reported his coercion right in front of him!
Priceless
Many years ago I had several serious and viable threats against my life. I filed a police report and in this report I clearly put in that I do not believe that Bob, Bill, Stan, Charles and Steve were responsible for these threats but they could likely provide you with a direction to take the investigation. [NOT the real names.] About a year later they had me hauled in front of my own union’s Executive Board (of which I was the Chair) and demanded that I reach out to the police to have their names removed from the report. Even though I explained that I clearly reported that they likely were not responsible, the police would not remove their names—only amend the report to include the intimidation tactics used to try to coerce me into clearing their names. I explained that if ANYTHING were to happen to me after that—death (accidental or not) or even bring abducted by aliens into the Mother Ship—they would be the prime suspects. These guys weren’t the sharpest pencils in the box and could not grasp what I was telling them and still demanded satisfaction. I totally ignored them.
That’s right, officer. He’s trying to intimidate me into giving him a discount, too. I don’t know what Tough Guy David needs so many flowers for, but I bet the rest of the jail will get a real kick out of it
Needs the flowers to make up for the last time he fucked up.
Ohh yes David sir I am on my way to arrest thee 😂
Oooh… David’s got a reputation with local cops there. Wonder how many small businesses has he tried to scam by paying with a bad cheque?
Apparently 3
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>He said I had no right involving the police and it was so far out of line that I need to appease him somehow with a discount on more flowers. I'd like to imagine that the fool actually used "appease" in his demand. The mental image amuses me.
I hope OOP added a $50 “bad check fee.” It’s likely their bank charged them something for it, and in any case it took a lot of OP’s time they could have spent doing more flowers.
Not necessarily. OOP posted about going to "his" bank. A lot of times when you do that, they'll just refuse to honor the check, no extra charges.
I used to be a teller. We had a person coming in to cash a check on a notoriously broke customer. She came in dozens of times. One time, I looked at his account history and told her that she should come back early on a certain date. She came back at opening, and he was flush enough for that check to go through. When he came in to withdraw his money, he was mad, but I showed him the check he signed. I told him I checked the signature card. If he didn’t want to pay that money, he shouldn’t have written that check 🤷♀️
I like you
Out here doing the lord’s work
I work at a bank. I love this informative compliance so much lmao
His seething rage at being made to take responsibility like a big boy definitely gave me a smile.
This reminds me of the dognapper who stole Lady gagas's dog, then went to court for the finders reward and actually believed she was entitled to the reward regardless of her being the one who stole the dog. Some people have zero decency.
Didn't the dog nappers shoot the dog walker in the chest?
Yes, her best friend was shot.
I just looked this up - I guess Lady Gaga's reward said "no questions asked." And I'm assuming when she posted the reward she was partly targeting the dog nappers themselves, so she deliberately tricked them. Legally, with no context, I think she should have paid it out, but can't complain about Gaga scamming the scammers and not wanting to reward dognappers.
It has longstanding repercussions in society if a crime is being rewarded by the courts. The finders reward is void if you're responsible for the dog vanishing in the first place, or so, i think, at least. It was a good judge ruling because WTF if that ruling started to take precedent.
No way in hell should she have paid out. You don’t reward people for committing a crime. All you are doing is encouraging them to do it again.
She didn’t ask questions. She just contacted the police. Promises made. Promises kept.
You "think she \[Gaga\] should have paid out" --- wtf?
I can see where he/she are coming from. It's sort of implied in the "no questions asked" part, so an honest person *might* think Gaga should pay out there. However, you can't treat people like the dognapper with that level of honesty and they deserved to be brought to justice. I think it just goes to show that person's level of integrity. My initial reaction was also that the napper should be paid but I have an unrealistic expectation of fairness (in my opinion lol).
There's an established principle in law that you should not be able to benefit from a crime you committed. So, for example, if you are in someone's will and you kill them because you want that money, you cannot then collect the money. (This is also why famous murderers/serial killers aren't allowed to profit by, say, writing their memoirs.) Aside from that, I must say that I really don't see the fairness in paying a dognapper for "finding" dogs they stole – even if the reward is advertised as "no questions asked". But I am even more firmly against it when the dognapper also shoots the dog walker in order to steal the dog(s).
"Son of Sam" laws preventing criminals from profiting off publishing about their crimes were mostly struck down starting in the 1990's.
Right, the 'no questions asked" return for a reward part is extrajudicial. The person wants the dog back enough that they've said they will look away from the crime. It's not reciprocal nor do I think it serves any justice. However, if your idea of fairness is to keep up your end of a deal then I can see why someone could argue that she should pay them the "reward" (ransom more or less). You could even take into account the wealth difference.
Did I read this correctly? You think she should have paid the reward to the people who stole the dog?
The bounced check is already theft and bank fraud (I've had to go to court as a witness for this once). His *ability* to pay it is besides the point & the state should be prosecuting him regardless due to his obvious propensity. Since he likes the hot water, though, I'd call that in to the cops as well and frame it as an attempted robbery, assault and harassment. The standard is whether *a normal person would feel "apprehension of physical harm" or basically physically intimidated by a person with the ability to do so* (no physical touch is necessary, all you need is a threat either implicit or explicit) Check, check, check. He checks off the whole list. Hello, Po-po? I'd like to report an attempted robbery & assault. The man who wrote that bounced check came back in and demanded I hand over more of my products. He was very scary and intimidating. He said I have to appease him"
At the very least, I'd ask for a restraining order and a trespass warning where the police let him know he's not allowed in that store again or he will be arrested.
Oh, definitely. I just feel like the framing of the situation is important to getting the result you want. He attempted to steal from her& then came in to further harass& intimidate. I saw this as OP needed what she was experiencing to be put into context for her to realize that someone demanding that she "appease" him is a threat and an escalation of the situation. She should document it as such for her own safety
They should've called the officer… and told them he was now harassing them in person.
The only correct response to that demand is “suck my d—-“.
or "appease deez nuts"
Appeaz Deez
"I'll call Officer Ligma right away."
At first I thought the guy was a scumbag. Now I know he's a spoiled child scumbag.
He was just a garden variety bully and thought he could push her around bcoz she is young and female. I hope they still go through with prosecuting him, it sounds like he is a menace to small businesses.
Garden variety....well played
That he'll also pay for with a check.
At that point, the only response is "Fuck you, pay me." Anything he says, that's the response. The only exception is if he is saying "Here is the money, in cash," in which case the response is "Let me get my counterfeit detection pen." Followed by "Get the fuck off my property and never return" once you confirm the money is real.
Dude has to know that writing bad checks is illegal since it sounds like this is a habit. I'm surprised his bank hasn't dropped him and blacklisted him.
This statement confuses me because late payment should incur interest, bounced cheques should incur fees. He should have added costs.
“Appease me m’lady”
That bit tells me he subscribes to the D J Trump School of Economics.
Not paying her in the first place says that.
I had the same thought. I was thinking after reading about their second interaction that he definitely sounds like potential Presidential material. 🙄
That strategy works fine, but only if you have a net worth above $100 million. DJT devotees tend to forget that - immunity from consequences is for the rich, and for those who raid treasuries and rob states. Not for random idiots who defraud flower shops one at a time.
Idk, Trump has shafted plenty of small businesses too. If Trump was held accountable in this situation I imagine it'd go something like this: As the greatest flower expert in the world, I'm truly sickened by the horrible selection presented by your so-called "flower shop." Believe me, I've seen flowers, beautiful flowers, the best flowers, and what you delivered to me is nothing short of a disaster. SAD! I paid a tremendous $400, big bucks, for a bouquet that looks like it was put together by amateurs and this is what I'm being sent to court over? I demand a full refund and an apology for wasting my time with your low-energy flowers. We're going to make flower shops great again when I win the election against Sleepy Joe (who many people say is leading this witch hunt).
Its like he saw the stuff Donald Trump has gotten away with over the years and figured he could get away with it at a much smaller scale. Only he forgot that the only reason Trump got away with similar scams is because he was rich and the same laws don't apply to rich guys.
Omg the audacity on this guy!
All I can see is the picture of Michael Scott and Creed at the Chinese restaurant with “thief” under their pictures!
Maybe he should take it to the Supreme Court
Soon enough, this guy is going to land himself in jail very soon if he continues this, which he deserves cause what a tool.
If the cops know you by name and laugh when people make a police report about you, they are *itching* to find something that sticks. Dude is on borrowed time. He's gonna end up in criminal court for some financial thing or traffic court because all the local cops are sick of his shit and will find any tiny thing they can to ticket him for.
Or he's gonna mess with the wrong person and REALLY get what he deserves 😬
More likely he'll try that with some business that's actually a front for a cartel
That would be an interesting movie. Like a different take on a John Wick style thing.
You killed my puppy. And then wrote me a bad cheque for flowers.
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I don't think those people take checks
Haha no
I had someone try to screw me for $5k, ended up costing them well in excess of $30k. I opted to lose that $5k to really dig the knife in. Hope OOP sends them my way.
Would you be willing to teach us how you did that?
Not OP, but lawsuits can be expensive. My state small claims court allows you to recover your court fees, and some state laws also let you recover attorneys fees and multiple damages in some cases (for example, landlord security deposit violations, home improvement contractor projects, unfair or trade practices…). So the other guy might have to pay for a lawyer, for your lawyer, and for 3x what they owe plus interest
There’s also punitive damages i.e. a FAFO tax.
I am also interested in knowing this!
Spill the tea, spill the tea SirPiffings!
He probably chose to use this business because it was small and operated by someone he thought he could push around.
Honestly he's lucky OOP has good self restraint. If he came in to demand a shop owner drop charges, and that shop owner happens to have a hot temper.... Dude could've gotten his ass beat pretty bad over threats like that.
He wouldn't have done it if OOP weren't a young woman. If it'd been a man, he'd maybe have tried the whole, "But we're duuuudes, we're friends, right? We'll totally have beers around my grill at weekend, won't we? And you'll meet all my famous friends and neighbours!" All that schmooze. But because OOP was young and a woman, and naive, he went with very 'brave' posturing. What an arse, and a complete bully.
Or worse. He could end up being one of those missing persons that no one actually misses at all.
But then where will OOP send the flowers?
I got that reference! I see you
Victim intimidation is a crime in some jurisdictions
And then op would have been in the wrong and going to jail, so thank god she has more sense than a random redditor.
Yup. Sometimes, it takes one person to not buckle under to the pressure from the dirtbag and the situation changes tremendously. When I was 17, I got jumped by my crazy ex-girlfriends crazy cousin. When I was being interviewed by police and stated I wanted to give a statement, and would testify, their faces lit up. Like kids finding out they get a second Christmas level of lit up. Turns out the guy was involved in 6 separate current investigations, from welfare fraud to mid-level dealing/low-level distribution, sexual assault and witness intimidation. He was held pending trial due to flight risk and witness intimidation risks. He plead guilty, did 3 months pre-plead, and did 9 months I'm custodial sentence plus probation, etc. While he was locked up on 5 charges from my case, the cops used my case as an example to encourage others involved in the other cases. The end result was about 70 charges with extremely good odds at conviction. I don't know what the final count was on pleas, trial convictions or time served. Oh yeah, it wasn't because I was particularly brave that I was able to stand up to him. I moved 1100km to live in a small town with family , and it was before social media lol.
I wonder if he’s trying to fly just under felony level?
It reeks of small town antics tbh
Obviously. Where else is a small business owner this screwed over $400 and cops know the thief by name
I mean, knowingly writing cold checks is a crime, and once you've done it multiple times, it's obvious that you know what you're doing. He's still getting away with it because the cops are doing nothing, really.
Small towns gunna small town. Shit like this doesn't fly in a city
You do not want to make cops itch to do their jobs. You really don’t.
Sure hope OOP manages to get updates on that and then updates Reddit with the good news.
My father spent 6 years in federal prison for writing bad checks.
Yeah I was surprised they didn't arrest him. Isn't that like straight up, clear cut fraud?
If he has connections in a small town things like that get swept under the rug all the time.
god, I hope so.
Kinda seems like he'll be running for president next.
Yeah, honestly that tracks. Loud, brash dimwitted manchild of a guy who stiffs his contractors and doubles down on his aggrieved rage when confronted about it.
Yeah, if he's this familiar with the cops, he's probably on parole or probation and will be put back in jail if he has ANY charge. So that's why he ran is his chicken butt down there to get this taken care of before charges were filed and begged the guy to drop them.
Or it’s small town.
I don't understand why he isn't charged with theft. Imagine if shoplifting was consequence free like this...2 weeks later you get a call from a cop "ah! We got you! No free stuff for you..come in and pay you silly goose".
That is probably the best case scenari of or that guy. I think one day he will try to scam the wrong person and end up wearing cement shoes at the bottom of a deep lake.
This dude reminds of my landlord. Absolute nickel-and-diming scumbag who drags his heels on necessary repairs runs through workers like water because of shit like this. Assholes like this bank on scaring you into submission because the moment authorities are involved, they know they’re screwed.
Sounds like my ex-landlord. Had to sue him to get several square metres of black mold removed from the wall that separates the bathroom (there was a leak in the wall - in my jurisdiction, infrastructural issues are the landlord’s responsibility, not the renter’s) and bedroom. I wasn’t the only tenant who had that problem - several others had had it in the past too, and that slumlord was a known name amongst lawyers in the housing and tenancy specialty. He tried to intimidate me (back then a woman in her early twenties) with phone calls several times, and even stood there screaming bloody murder at me the day of the repairs (which until the last minute were not even certain to happen because he was stalling the process and preferred to intimidate me into dropping the case instead). That arsehole lived in a multi million euro mountain vista residence (which I know because i handed in my termination of rent contract personally with a witness - dude also had a habit of claiming important mail never reached him, of course, so that’s why i drove there myself with a witness) while his renters were rotting in moldy apartments. I hope that slumlord died painfully to his (very obvious - dude‘s head was permanently as red as a turkey’s face - and he was fairly old, so just a matter of time) high blood pressure or Corona.
I work for a county government agency that doesn't handle mold, but we get calls for it so often that I compiled a list of resources for this exact situation. I gave it to my coworkers and they hand it out too. I include multiple legal resources and information on specific laws that clearly demonstrate landlord responsibilities. I direct them to a few different agencies that can help and hope at least one of them has the staff to do something. It is depressing how often I have to give this out. I had an elderly woman on the phone a few weeks ago who was sobbing because the mold in her home wasn't being taken care of bc the people responsible for it were shopping around for the cheapest mold removal. She thanked me for listening to her and for giving her resources despite it not being my job. I felt horrible anyways because that's the extent of what I can do. Landlords are parasites.
Sounds like my landlord! Left the building without electricity for almost a week and was rude to everyone for complaining.
I was thinking of my old landlord the whole time too. Tried to make us live with no running water for 2 days until I told him I knew our rights and he could pay for a hotel if he didn’t want to pay for the emergency plumber. We couldn’t go without any water for 2 days! We wouldn’t have even been able to use the toilet or wash our hands >_> The plumber magically had an opening that night… what a shocker.
I feel like this is true for all the squatter posts I see. They tell them not to throw their stuff out or change the locks because that’s illegal but these people aren’t operating by the letter of the law, they’re bending it and expecting you to play by the rules which keeps you in an endless loop of running to the authorities about the problem who can’t actually do anything about the problem, at least not for months or years down the road. So don’t play their game. If they have no proof they’re a legal tenant (because of course they don’t) and they don’t have a working key to your residence and they probably don’t have the kind of money necessary to actually go after you legally and even if they did that would require they explain to lawyer how this situation came about which would require that they self incriminate… so you’ve got some weird trespasser on your property who seems to be experiencing some sort of delusion about having lived in your property and you would like the cops to remove them post haste as you feel unsafe, please and thank you. YMMV based on your/their race and gender though.
This is one of those things where you could remove their stuff when they leave the house and then play ignorant/innocent and let _them_ fight you in court for right to live in your place instead of _you_ trying to get them legally kicked out.
Yeah it’s like a game of chicken. Whoever calls the cops first loses the game except the squatter knows that being the one to call the cops will immediately screw them over so they have to goad the other person into calling the cops and oops now it’s on record that you tried to make the cops “illegally” evict a “tenant” so now you have to go through the appropriate channels to evict them. You basically give them a checkmate.
Imagine the total and utter lack of moral compass for someone to walk into a new start-up, *selling flowers no less*, and deliberately hand over a bad cheque. *And then to complain about involving the police for theft & fraud*. That jackass is probably a VP somewhere.
He's probably a [DIRECTOR of OPPERATIONS](https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/sl17a8/the_saga_of_the_director_of_operations_and_what/)
Wow, that was a trip.
And a half😮
It just kept going!
Omg! I remember that post and the utter insanity that swirled around it as redditors went and looked at his posts and then his wife’s post. Lord that was a dumpster fire circus for sure. Thanks for reminding me of that one. I needed a good belly laugh today.
Always cover your costs when you take an order : a deposit of about half. You charge the balance when they pick it up, plus any taxes. If they stiff you at least you have your costs covered. In my experience the only people who ever bitched about this were those who tried to stiff me.
This. Insane to hand over the product before it’s paid
Also, checks? This is like something from my childhood (I'm nearly 40 now). Is it really common to use checks in the USA?
I’m not in the US … almost no one uses them anymore here. And I wouldn’t accept a cheque from anyone anymore. Almost all my clients pay by an e-transfer straight from their bank account, or cash.
Not at all. Usually just for things you have to mail in payment for. I don't know the last time I saw someone write a check at a store.
I work at a bank, and sadly, yes. Checks are still very popular with businesses and many consumers. I'd say it's very rare for anyone under 30 to write a check though.
> Is it really common to use checks in the USA? For some things. It's pretty common for rent. It's also the most convenient way to pay some government fees (they always lag behind when it comes to tech). Very uncommon for everything else.
I work in the equine sector and checks are extremely common. Not so much at a store front, but paying your monthly board, vet bills, etc. I also accept wire transfer, cash, credit cards, PayPal, etc, but an overwhelming amount of people still pay by check. Mostly the ones with large businesses or older folks.
Never write a florist a bad cheque when they are starting a project for you. They need the seed money.
*Daaaaaaad* /r/dadjokes
Please leaf the puns alone.
You’re just pistil you didn’t think of it first.
Good to see a few of us rose to the occasion.
What in carnation
So, when did you become a dad?
At the very least this guy backpetaled
I can't 🐝🍃 these puns
From now on make a list and post it on yours store saying…Don’t accept checks from…. I see it all the time here in different businesses.
Or just don’t accept cheques. Why anyone is still taking a payment method where you’re literally gambling on actually getting paid for your services is beyond me.
It’s mostly people that they have known and it’s few and far between. Some companies still issue paper checks. Idk why things go the way they do,or people do things the way they want to.
Businesses where I live don't accept cheques at all anymore. Even small businesses like a roadside flower stall will either be cash only or will have a Square terminal set up.
Well that’s great. Where I live some businesses still do, just no two party checks.
What a complete and utter dumbass. Going through this whole process of thievery and then paying in full is fundamentally paying more money in the end than simply paying the price at the beginning. Logically makes no sense to me. Especially if he's a regular with the cops? Terrible conman.
I don’t think the objective of his con is money, I think it’s that he gets off on fucking people over. Whether it’s a $400 flower arrangement or a $2 candy bar, the infliction of pain upon others in the point.
I'm not sure I'd characterize it as "infliction of pain" being the point. A lot of these types are looking to "get one over on other people". They've done studies on these sorts of dickheads. If you put out something like a box of fundraising candy bars with an honor system donation box in the areas the low-level employees occupy, they will pay, or pay more than what is requested. Put that box where the C-levels have their offices and you're going to lose money and have to make up the difference for the cost of the fundraiser box out of your own pocket. I mean, I don't really want some crappy chocolate but hey, why not stuff some bills in the box and grab a treat to help out whatever school program they're fundraising for.
Is “getting one over on someone” not inflicting pain to some degree? When I say pain I’m using that term very generally to mean shame, humiliation, or really any negative experience ranging from mild annoyance/inconvenience to unbearable suffering. I agree that some people who do selfish things are so wrapped up in themselves that they are unaware of the effects their actions are having on other people, I’d even say that some percentage of people like that would feel remorse and change their behavior if those effects were brought to their attention. But some people are actually sadistic; they do selfish things not only knowing it’s going to hurt someone else, but because it’s going to hurt someone else.
He was hoping Op would just eat the loss. Thankfully he was mistake
>He is an abuser with an ego, and he is not doing as well as you are, but makes sure that fact is hidden under his brash-ness and chest-out-ness. Damn what a brilliant comforting line!
She absolutely should post his picture on the wall. One of my local stores does this with the pictures of past shoplifters. It's never kids either, it's always full grown adults that know better.
First, let me say I Do Not Recommend handling the situation this way - my Dad is lucky he never got shot, but reading this brought back memories… My parents had a convenience store and occasionally took checks from people they thought they could trust. The store was near a road that had many new and used car lots. A salesman bounced a couple checks, probably totaling about $60, but this was in the early 2000’s. The guy would not return my Dad’s calls, and my Dad knew which used car lot he worked at. So he took his baseball bat to the lot, and he got his money back. Nothing bad happened, thank goodness, I think my dad threatened to take a tail light out on his car. Another salesman paid the $60 for the guy and we never saw him again. The other salesmen still came in and told us they didn’t like the guy, and he didn’t last long at the lot. As I said, I don’t recommend this method, my Dad’s lucky he never came across anyone nuttier than him.
Someone using a cheque in 2023, I'd be suspicious.
Whenever I make a large purchase at a store (i.e. above my daily-limit) I use a bank draft, because it's easily verifiable, functions debitally, and removes the hassle of both calling my bank to answer questions to a French person or carrying around a bunch of stupid bills.
I think this must be an American thing. I haven't heard of anyone using a cheque at a shop in decades.
I'm only just old enough to remember them, can you imagine handing a 16-year-old at the til a cheque now? They'd have no idea what was happening.
Yeah, I have some suppliers (very old) who still prefer cheques be posted. Trainees are always like "wtf is this?"
Definitely not an American thing. I can't think of a single store near me that doesn't have a sign that says "Will not accept personal checks." The last time I dealt with checks was when I was a property manager and only two of my tenants used them out of 180 units. The rest paid online or with a money order.
A lot of shops will refuse to accept a cheque because they no longer have the computer programs to process them
Honestly, the only thing I use checks for anymore is specifically to give money to family. Some of use use a bank that doesn't have many physical locations, so it's sometimes easier to write a check for remote deposit vs messing with account and routing numbers.
Man, the US banking system is wild. It's like a museum piece at this point.
Had no right to involve the police... For theft? Lol Shop owner absolutely did.
Ahh what a lovely BORU.
>He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report. You know, I just might have called the officer while he was there and told him that "David --- is in my shop right now and I could use your help getting him to leave."
Wait, did they get paid?
Yes. OP said that in the title of the post with the update >he has PAID IN FULL
> **Update on the guy who wrote me a bad check: he has PAID IN FULL.** I don't know if you're being serious or not, or maybe you skipped the line, but I've copied & pasted it here for you...
Honestly its very uncommon for information to only be in a title and not the body. Especially on a update post. I didn't register it either. I stopped reading after Update on the guy who wrote me a bad check
It’s quite easy to program your brain to skip passed the titles when reading BORU.
As a non-American - what the fuck? Is it still commonplace to accept cheques? I hope OOP wins but wow, considering he was trying not to pay at all why are they surprised he wrote a bad cheque? Who accepts cheques as payment?! Cheques are for your gran or grandad to gift you money for your birthday. Any business accepting cheques is gambling with their time and money.
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Turn it into the DA’s bad check program.
I'm glad this worked out for OOP, she sounds sweet and trusting and it's sad that he trounced on that trusting nature but its possible he saved her from a worse customer. Fun Fact: In the US to file a small claim ($2500 or less IIRC) you just walk into the courthouse for the area where the infraction occurred and ask to file a claim, they give you a form, you fill it out and hand it over, and pay the fee. If the judge believes that this was done deliberately or in \*bad faith\* (with intent to deceive or as an habitual offender) he/she can award treble (3x) damages to the claimant so OOP could have gotten $1200 from future Davids, since this David would have run to pay her before the court date.
I’m gonna laugh my ass off when he does this to someone with little to no regard for self-preservation and they just straight up try to mulch his ass. It will be well deserved and a long time coming.
Checks don't "go bad". Every time you present this to his bank and there are insufficient funds the bank will charge him a fee. You can present it as often as you want. I recommend going silent for a couple of months and then present it to the bank again. If you are not bothering him he might put money in that account and the check would be honored. I did this for 3 months worth of bounced rent checks I received before the tenant skipped in the middle of the night. I presented it on the first of the month, three months later, hoping they had direct deposit of their paycheck. There were funds in the account and all three checks were honored.
This David sounds like he graduates from Donald Trump’s “university”.
Rule number one of small business- dont take checks!!
>He said I had no right involving the police and it was so far out of line that I need to appease him somehow with a discount on more flowers. He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report. "Suck my dick."
> He then demanded I call the officer while he was there so he could see me drop the report. I would have smiled and been like "of course I'll call him back." Then do so, wait til he shows up... immediately drop the smile to "stone cold business woman" and say "Officer, this man is now threatening and harassing me, is there a way to amend the charge to add more?" Then look back to the guy and ask, "Is that what you meant?"
Is anyone else shocked the police did anything?
Someone is going to take a bat to this guys knees or worse. He’s just lucky he hasn’t screwed over the wrong person
I once accepted a custom order from a coworker for 6 dozen chocolate truffles. I didn't collect a deposit. She never picked them up so I never got paid. Now i require payment in full when accepting custom orders.
This almost exact thing happened to me at my work. Guy wrote a check for a $500 purchase - at first i told him we don’t take checks (not entirely true, we just try not to take them for these EXACT reasons) but he was soooo nice I just said okay no big deal. Left his number because he wanted to special order something, i got his license and address for the check and it fkn came back insufficient funds. It was a CLOSED account 🙃 i felt so dumb, offered to pay back my boss and everything. Boss ended up calling the local police, who called the police where he lived, and left him a message giving him 2 days to pay or else they were showing up to arrest him. Magically the money was under the shop door the next morning! Never took a check after that.
The richest people I know always default on their payments It makes no sense
Knowingly writing a bad check is considered fraud. $400 is usually a misdemeanor. With his past history and the officer knowing the guy I guarantee there is a history of him writing bad checks. That history is a good way to establish probable cause he does it intentionally. Usually I do the same thing with bad checks. Contact the person. Tell them to pay up, or charges will be pressed. More often than not it solves the situation.
The US has gotta be the only country where checks are still regularly used like this right? It's bizarre to me to even consider taking a payment of this amount with a check vs bank transfer or card payment.
Very few businesses take personal checks anymore for this reason. B2B checks are still common though, so I wonder if this was the case.
It's so wild to me that cheques are still used in the US enough so that OP would accept it as a form of payment. The only time I have seen a cheque in my life is when I have over paid a credit card or a loan
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If the cheque was drawn from a local bank, go into the branch in person and advise them that he’s passing bad cheques. It’s grounds for them to close his accounts and exit him as a customer. A notation goes in his credit bureau if that happens, and it can stop other banks from opening accounts for him, or at least harshly limit his ability to funds. The fact that he gave you cheque 003 but he’s well known for passing bad cheques suggests that this may have already happened at least once at a different bank.
Was his name Donald trump?
"Hello, officer. Yeah, that guy who wrote the bad check and I made a complaint on? He's here now harassing and threatening me, could you come here right now? I don't feel safe. Thanks!" Then hang up, put down the phone, and stare this guy in the eyes with as evil and amused expression as you can muster.
I’d blast this guy on Facebook so fast!!!
I’m waiting for the follow up where David had to go to court and face charges like the adult criminal he is.
You should have called the officer and said "Mr. Bounce is here. He wants me to drop the charges. Would you like to speak to him?"
Paying a store by cheque (or “check” for Americans) is the weirdest thing to me as someone from outside the US. Why would a store accept this archaic and fraud prone method of payment?
I love stories like these where shitheads lose and justice prevails. I just wish something more could've been done. He's probably not learned his lesson
As an Australian, the idea of being paid by check is so baffling to me…
My wife used to work for collections in a very small business. Her way of getting paid was this: Do a little research on the person that bounced the check and find out when they get paid, or when their employer disburses. Next step is to take the bounced check to the bank it's issued from and go in person to cash it, and she was on their doorstep when it opened on pay-day. Man she got some nasty phone calls from the people she was collecting from... Of course they are the ones that spend their entire paycheck on the day it's issued so she caused a lot more bounced checks for them. But it was the quickest and most efficient method of getting collection money and much easier than small claims/judgments.
I don't know if they still do but many years ago a Hells Angels chapter ran a debt collection agency. For a mere 15% they would rock up.in full colours to collect the debt .
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that you can report a hot check to the local District Attorney's Office and they will reimburse you quickly, +$25-$50 bucks extra. Then the DA can prosecute and collect from the delinquent and the business owner can go on with their lives.
Trigger Warning: Theft?
Crazy seeing checks still used in the western world. I don’t remember seeing a check book since the late 90s.
love me a happy ending BORU
When the cops know the guy by name and *also* want to see him go down, it's time to go fucking nuclear.
Call the police and file a report. It happens at my business from time to time and on checks as low as $49. I've gotten paid the check amount plus $25 returned check fee everytime. Apparently the police going to their residence, telling them it is illegal to purposely write bad checks and if they are willing to pay with 7 days, the business owner will not press charges. The only exception I had to this is a crooked vendor whose checks for my money he misused bounced. I'm slowly getting it back in restitution as he was convicted for check fraud(in excess of 5k makong it a felony) and has his wages garnished. His plead deal was no jail provide he didn't miss any restitution payments. Had to wait a few years cause he was arrested by feds and spent 3 years in prison for payroll tax theft. As soon as he got out I started receiving it.
I had a customer write a $45k check that bounced. Luckily it was for a stock so there was something to recover. He too is a known scumbag. When my attorney started digging, he said we can pursue but we’d be about 12th in line. Years later he got banned by the MN Twins for aggressively going after foul balls, like stealing them from little kids and stuff. He also did a short stint in jail over a ticket scalping scheme. I write a comment in every news story about him that he’s a scam artist and writes bad checks. Glad this story has such a happy ending.