Re: OT: Somebody Called the Sheriff On Me

[ABLE1 <somewhere@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 6/21/2021 11:44 AM, Bob La Londe wrote:
> If you don't want to read a rant.  Stop right now and hit your kill key
> on this thread.  This is a rant.  Its also not alarm related.
>
> I was a licensed contractor for 23 years.  Never had a complaint on my
> license (a real complaint) and only had two BBB complaints.  Both of the
> later just didn't want to honor the terms they agreed to and their
> letters just read like they didn't want to pay their bill.  After the
> second time and the BBB listed me with a B while listing companies I
> knew first hand engaged in fraudulent practices with an A I told them
> they were prohibited from listing my company at all.
>
> Well recently I had a customer pay for a custom job.  I told them up
> front that there was about 16 weeks custom work already paid on my jobs
> board, and that all jobs were done in the order they are paid.  PERIOD
> NO EXCEPTION and I understand if they want to look for somebody else.
>
> That is pretty much the standard in the market niche I work in now. Some
> new guys do work on spec or take partial deposits, but they quickly
> learn like I did that you get stuck with items on your shelf you can't
> sell and can't get paid for.  Lots of guys don't tell customers how long
> its going to take, and they don't respond to demanding emails at all.  I
> tell them upfront and I try to always respond to their requests for
> updates.  I actually had a customer tell me early on, "No Bob.  I will
> pay you up front just like I would have to with anybody else decent in
> the business."  I've been that way ever since.  I have about 14-16 weeks
> work on the custom jobs board right now so obviously its a workable model.
>
> The customer from paragraph two started giving me crap and being
> demanding after about 8 weeks.  I told him that we were not close to the
> terms he agreed to and pointed out it was sent in email and it was on
> his invoice.  Well he went off the deep end telling me he had already
> contacted his bank and they had refunded his money, and threatening to
> "write lots of reviews."Â  He didn't have the nerve to actually say bad
> reviews or slanderous reviews, but I thanked him for the warning and
> asked him if he would so kind as to send me links to those reviews so I
> could share them with all my happy customers.  He went off the deep end
> again and threatened to sue me among other things.  I'm not sure exactly
> what he would sue me for, but I let him know his reply wasn't really
> coherent and I was blocking his emails.  I also told him that if he
> tried to circumvent that I would consider a harassment (harassment is
> criminal) complaint against him.  Within a minute or two my phone was
> ringing.  I was in the machine room setting up a job, but when I went
> back in the office I looked up the CALL ID and it was this guy.  I'm
> glad I didn't answer.  He didn't leave a message.
>
> I was a bit annoyed and decided to call it a day before I broke
> something or worse hurt myself and everybody's jobs got delayed.  I was
> sitting in my living room in my recliner sipping on a cup of fresh
> brewed coffee and watch Ian of Forgotten Weapons on YouTube tell all
> about how Samuel Colt was an interesting and very driven individual when
> a local Sheriff's Deputy rang my door bell.
>
> Apparently the guy had called his local Sheriff's department in Florida
> and said I was trying to rip him off.  Now lets stop a minute.  If he
> misrepresented things to his bank/credit card provider and took my money
> back he has no financial claim, and I no longer had any obligation to
> him.  If he did not tell that to the Sheriff's department he
> misrepresented things at best.  To my knowledge there is no jurisdiction
> in the USA where filing a false police report or making false statements
> to law enforcement in the performance of their duties is not a crime.
>
> They called my local Sheriff's Department and who sent a deputy to see
> me. I explained everything, showed him all the pertinent supporting
> documentation, and  emailed him copies.  He said the police report on
> his end was going to be really short.  I'll be getting a copy, and also
> the incident report number from the Florida Sheriff's office so I can
> get a copy of their police report as well.
>
> In the mean time I sent our friend in Florida one last email letting him
> know that as long as he did not succeed in stealing from me I would
> unblock him long enough to get proof approval on his job when I got to
> his job on the board in about 8 weeks.  I also let him know the local
> sheriff's department had visited with me, and I would be getting a copy
> of both their and his sheriff's departments police reports.  "While I am
> not sure you filed a false police report, under Arizona law even as the
> victim I am REQUIRED by Arizona statute to report a crime if I believe
> one has been committed."
>
> What I should do for my own peace of mind is refund the guy and block
> him forever, but I don't believe in rewarding bad behaviour.  Besides I
> consider that a binding agreement to do a job goes both ways.  I am just
> as obligated to complete his job as he is not to back out of it after I
> have put the money to work making sure there is material to do it and
> spent time figuring out the best way to get it done.
>
> I never had a customer call the sheriff on me because I insisted on
> sticking to the terms of an agreement and refused to be intimidated
> until last Friday.  I'm still a little stunned.  Relieved too actually.
> Law enforcement, atleast on my end, had no problem seeing the situation
> for what it was.
>
> As a contractor I had a couple customers I fired, but I never fired them
> before completing the job I agreed to do, and I always covered the
> warranty until the 366th day.  I think I will fire this guy ten seconds
> after I ship his part.
>