Is it fraud to return an item and then rebuy it at a used price? (criminal defense): I tried a ~$1800 item but don’t need all its features. I’d buy it if it were cheaper. The store will resell it as used for $1200 when I return it. Is it fraudulent to buy the same returned item at $1200, or should I just get a different version?
Theodore’s answer: Buying a product while intending to return it (especially intending to benefit from the return by buying at a discount later) could be considered silent fraud or misrepresentation. Whether it's legal or not isn't the important question here, though. It would certainly be unethical to do what you describe.
I need to know if this is your average email scam or should I be worried??:
Cash Advance America Payday Loan
Case Consult Operator: Joseph Doyle
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Contact at: [email protected]
Case Number # 8226151
SUBJECT: LOAN DUE AMOUNT- $1870.17
Today's settlement amount is $995.85
We are hereby to inform you that you are going to be legally prosecuted in the Court House within a couple of days. So, before something goes wrong, we would like to notify you about this matter. It seems apparent that you had chosen to ignore all our efforts to contact you to resolve your debt with your Payday Services. At this point, you had made your intentions clear and left us no choice but to protect our interest in this matter.
UNITED LEGAL INVESTIGATION BUREAU HAS STATED 4 SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST YOU AND THEY ARE:
(1) VIOLATION OF FEDERAL BANKING REGULATION
(2) COLLATERAL CHECK FRAUD
(3) THEFT BY DECEPTION
(4) ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER
NOTE: - We are in the process of blocking your Social Security number and informing all the Major Credit Bureaus as well.
Theodore’s answer: It's almost certainly a scam. Federal law requires, among other things, that a debt collector identify itself as a debt collector and, in the initial communication with a debtor, provide verification and dispute procedures. None of that is in the message you received. If the collector here even owns a debt you owe or has the right to collect a debt from you--they might not--they're still breaking the law by threatening to do things the law does not allow. So you're dealing with one of the following: (1) a pure scam in which no such debt ever existed and the collector knows it, (2) a case of identity theft in which the collector thinks you owe a debt you don't and is making unlawful communications to try to collect it, or (3) a case in which the debt is legitimate but the collector is making unlawful communications to try to collect it. You could ignore the communication entirely or try to explore who is trying to collect and why. If they could be tracked down, the chances are good you'd have a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim that a consumer protection lawyer would take on.
Can a debtor collect after 8 years?: i have this collection company calling .. i wanted to set up a payment plan.. now when i call them , she won't answer and wont return calls... she won't accept money order or withdrawals from my account, which i don't feel comfortable with
Theodore’s answer: In Michigan, in most instances, a debt is not legally enforceable if no payments have been made on it in over six years. It is not illegal for a collector to try to get you to pay voluntarily, but it would be illegal for the creditor to sue you or for the debt collector to threaten a lawsuit or otherwise misrepresent your or the creditor's legal rights.