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Defrauded by Workman: What to Do?


southland

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My house is being restored.

I have a situation where I gave a deposit for material and the installer never has installed the material and is now giving me the run-around at the end of week two.

The amount is worth suing for, but I don't know how that is done here.

I also would like to know what other ways to report this robbing me of my deposit, and the bad business practice.

I am determined to get my money back and to get justice served to this person who thinks he will get away with my money.

Ideas and direction? Advice where to go?

Thank you,

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You will have to have his name and the details of the agreement to take to Ministerio Publico, with a translator if you aren‘t fluent, to initiate a claim; a manda, against the one who defrauded you.  However, if his excuses turn out to be true, and he can produce and perform as agreed, you could be on the hook for a false accusation.

That is my understanding of your situation, but I would suggest that you consult with Spencer at Chapala Law before doing anything.

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Thank you.

My experience with Ministerio Publico is dismal.

The workman/contractor has failed to do as he daily promises over the phone. He says he'll be here and do the work, and he does not come to do the work, nor do the materials come.

Meanwhile, he has my deposit money since August 22nd.

I have the signatures of his for receipt of the money I have paid him, and the total project costs on the same sheet of paper. To me that is a contract.

The case against him is cut and dried as far as I can see, unless he shows up at the last minute with the finished materials and installs.

That last minute expires tomorrow, and so far no proof of product and no installation, only more unfulfilled promises and more no-shows.

I need him to know I am serious. To my experience the Ministerio Publico is not a serious public agency; it has not been helpful to me in the past, and MP moves slow until a petitioning person just gives up.

I'm looking for more than Ministerio Publico, someone or some agency or public department who can and will take effective and reliable action -- a process.

Then I need to tell the workman exactly what I am going to do if he fails to deliver the promised product and service.

I have heard Mexico has the equivalent of a BBB but I can't remember the name of that public service agency. That is idea #2 to warn him about.

Any other ideas?

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It's only been about 2 weeks since Aug. 22. The guy may show up yet. By his standards, he probably does not consider himself all that late--contractors routinely promise more than they can deliver in order to get the job. He is probably finishing another job that he over-optimistically said he would complete by the time he was to start your job. If he does show up, he may deliver materials, do enough work to make a mess, and then leave to go finish the first job. Some contractors are like that. You may want to cut your losses and not work with this guy. Or, you may want to drop by his house and smilingly ask if he's been sick. Or maybe you could send flowers and a "get well" note?

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To have a contract you would need a written agreement spelling out what you are expecting and an acceptance by the contractor of those terms.  Said terms must be clear and definite.  When an essential term is open for future negotiation the contract is void.   In this instance the contract is supported by a monetary consideration.  In short there must be an offer, an acceptance and legal consideration.  At least that’s the US version of contract law I remember.   As I understand it here the contract must be in Spanish to be enforceable. 

I would think the way to go is through civil court, not Ministerio Publico, using an attorney to lay out the case and file the charges.   Not a task for anyone other than an attorney.

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Contact Spencer soon.  Laws are different here than U.S. or Canada. Take all information that you have to Spencer. He MAY be able to get your funds back and you can move on to another worker. 

There are recommendations on this board for the services you probably need. Or, start a new topic asking for recommendations.

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two weeks may seem like a long time to you,but it isn't much time to a mexican worker. he may be having trouble with the materials order, or as someone mentioned a job that is taking too longer to finish or someone sick in the family. he may be embarassed to communicate his reason to you and so avoids you---i would too if i knew your attitude. try a compationate "que pasa?" and see if you can get an answer, this is not the USA....it is normal to give a down payment for materials, so don't let yourself feel dumb cuz you did. for most things the contractor can run a tab at the local hardware store that can be paid off later,but some materials requires cash on delivery. and yes, we have experience with local construction on two houses and a business, so we know that everything doesn't always go smoothly,but don't jump to conclusions and run for the law...you may alienate someone unnecessarily .

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What "the Walkers" said. Try not to be angry or it might backfire on you. If you don´t know the system here in Mexico you should take advise from those who do and things will work out as that is simply just the way it is. Try not to compare your previous experiences with your new experiences and you will not get frustrated or angry living here. IMO

Suing for this type of thing in civil court doesn´t happen and if you do you will lose. People here take care of these things themselves. Police and MP investigators don´t spend time running around checking these type of things out. They spend their time on vilolent and large scale crime. Petty crime goes unpunished.

Mexico by law is a low liability country so that is the main reason many things are able to be done much cheaper than in a high liability country. In 20 years of living here you will save tens of thousands of dollars by this simplified system of law alone.

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This is Mexico where the burden of proof is a lt higher than in the States and you better have eveerything spelled out very clearly, signed y both parties etc.. If you have not experienced what the  court here is looking for , good luck on having all the right paperwork.

You  may want to work it out with the worker , sit down and hav a good talk with him before jumping into a law suit.Two weeks is a very short amount of time here to have to wait for anything..Work it out with the worker first.

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Yup, this most certainly is not Kansas. Thanks to the Walkers and Alan Mexicali for saying it so perfectly. Yes to what everyone else said too, but you must understand that NOB "sue happy" ways just don't get much traction around here, so best to start out right. In your case you may need to go into recovery mode. If you start by yelling "j'acuse" two weeks into a job you will quickly find your reputation has spread. Take a deep breath, be nice,  AND be polite when you do see the guy, heck maybe even apologize for flying off the handle saying something human like... " I just don't know how things get done and I got scared". Humble pie does go a long way here and if you are lucky, you just may find out this was a tempest in a teacup. ie: When you do talk to him again, do so with a view of finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Good luck.

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Spencer McMullen routinely post on this forum and others.  He provides valuable information to the community on a variety of topics.  He gets many recommendations for his services from a great many of us who read this forum.

So I have to ask, why would you post on an open forum requesting some sort of legal advice, knowing full well that you're going to get all sorts of opinions that are nothing more than opinions.

If, as you say, it is an amount worth suing for, why wouldn't you be willing to get sound advise from someone who is a professional.

I don't mean to sound catty, it just always surprises me when someone wants legal advice from unqualified people.

 

 

 

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Never give deposits like that - I too learned the hard way, shrugged it off to education. If the contractor needs materials, and doesn't have an account (warning sign right there), ask him for a list of materials he needs, hire a man with a truck and go direct to the supply store, pay cash, asked for a receipt, not a electronic factura, get the man with the truck to unload the materials, keep a close eye on this process. When the job is over, any "overages" on materials do not belong to the contractor - they are yours, bought and paid for. Running to a lawyer is about the silliest thing I have ever heard on this forum.

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20 minutes ago, Gilligan said:

Spencer McMullen routinely post on this forum and others.  He provides valuable information to the community on a variety of topics.  He gets many recommendations for his services from a great many of us who read this forum.

So I have to ask, why would you post on an open forum requesting some sort of legal advice, knowing full well that you're going to get all sorts of opinions that are nothing more than opinions.

If, as you say, it is an amount worth suing for, why wouldn't you be willing to get sound advise from someone who is a professional.

I don't mean to sound catty, it just always surprises me when someone wants legal advice from unqualified people.

 

 

 

You seem to forget the advice here goes way beyond the simplistic thinking you have about  suing a contractor 2 weeks late on a promise - how to sue - and how to report it to authorities. Give us a break and read all the advise as a whole, not pick two aspects of it and put the rest in the trash as irrevelant as you did.

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42 minutes ago, CHILLIN said:

Never give deposits like that - I too learned the hard way, shrugged it off to education. If the contractor needs materials, and doesn't have an account (warning sign right there), ask him for a list of materials he needs, hire a man with a truck and go direct to the supply store, pay cash, asked for a receipt, not a electronic factura, get the man with the truck to unload the materials, keep a close eye on this process.

Exactly the truth and if we did it any other way and  got ripped off my wife´s family and our friends would probably say to us : "Serves you right for being so careless with your money." - and maybe add lazy to that,

 

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Here the way it is normally done without a contractor for the whole house build ....... is you go material supply, pay and have them deliver.

Then you pay for the work as it gets done

Folks who just want to throw money at a project are asking for it 

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The OP has been on this site since 2008. It is unimaginable that he hasn't any insight as to what to and especially as to what is ahppening.  It is likely the contractor has used the money to finish up a current project and then he will get money from someone else to do the OPs work.  The Op mentions that:

Quote

My experience with Ministerio Publico is dismal.

This leads me to think he knows whats up and wants to stir this pot. 

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