posted on May 10, 2001 10:48:02 AM new
I had a bidder who e-mailed me every time I turned around while one set of auctions was running, asking questions about various items. Every time I answered one questions, she sent another. When all was said and done, she only one won auction. I sent the info, she sent a check, and I mailed the items. About two weeks later, she left negative feedback, saying she had e-mailed me more than a dozen times, and never heard from me. I e-mailed her, and asked what was going on. I did not hear back from her.
This morning, I received an e-mail from her, saying only "FYI I have had a bench warrant issued for your arrest for a $14.00 check." I e-mailed her and asked what in the world she was talking about. I have never written her a check, and the items she bought from me totalled $13, which was $16.50 with postage. She e-mailed back and said that she had never received the items, and said she had tried to e-mail me many times but not received a response. She said she had "tried everything." I asked why she had not called me, or written me a letter. We are in opposite ends of the same state, and I was under the impression that in order to issue a warrant in this sort of case, you had to present proof that a certified letter had been sent demanding settlement. (This knowledge was from a situation in which someone owed my husband money a couple years ago.) She said that she worked for the police department and her mother was an attorney. She asked why I would have sent the items if I had not received her e-mails. I said that I received her payment, why should I have not sent her items? She says that if I will replace the items, or send similar items, she will "have the warrant taken care of." I asked her to please e-mail a copy of it, but she refuses.
posted on May 10, 2001 06:43:06 PM new
Sounds like your buyer is blowing smoke. In any case, save everything she sends you. It sounds like if this escalates, you can have a good case against her. This kind of harrassment is possibly illegal.
posted on May 24, 2001 09:07:48 PM new
How does one go about getting a Bench Warrant issued? I bought something online and was sent a fake (after 5 months in which she said it was 'lost in the mail'). I have a Small Claims Judgement against her, but she lives in another state. Do you know if a Bench Warrant is possible between Virginia and Kentucky? I've never heard of it. I'm out over $300.
posted on May 25, 2001 06:35:02 AM new
Send all info including her letters to safeharbor and ask for help with her. Something is amiss here. She has to have proof that she tried to contact you via certified mail with non-delivery.
A bench warrant is not easy to obtain. If she works for the police and her mother is an attorney, I'd call the local police in her area and ask if she does in fact work there. If not, she's impersonating.
Just ignore her letters. Don't send her any replacements. She sounds like a con artist.
Report to ebay, report to your police department (extortion) and let them see if she works for her p.d. I'd bet you no. If she doesn't and she's representing herself as a police officer ...
posted on May 28, 2001 02:02:07 PM new
My son is a police officer and says if you call her local police dept or sheriffs office they can tell you if such a warrant exists.
A bench warrant is issued by a judge. A bench warrant is usually issued for not paying tickets or failing to appear at a court hearing or jury duty call.
posted on June 8, 2001 04:35:18 PM new
Bench warrants are issued in criminal cases. A judge isn't going to issue a bench warrant unless there's substantial proof that the issue involves criminal activity. If she took action against you, it would be a civil case that would be dealt with in small claims court. She's trying to coerce you into giving in to her demands.
Call the police station that she alledgedly works for. Give them her name, and simply ask if she's an employee of their department. If she isn't, ask to be transfered to the detective division and tell them that someone is posing as a police department employee and using that ploy as a way of intimidating you.
If she is an employee of the department, ask to speak to her supervisor. Ask the supervisor if it is acceptable for her to use her position with the police department to circumvent to civil court process.
posted on June 13, 2001 09:30:43 AM new
I would suggest when you mail anything to anyone that you make sure you send it where they have to sign that it has been received and you will receive a return receipt that shows their signature. I realize it is too late in this case but maybe it will help in the future. She is just trying to con you. I think I would turn around and put the heat on her and do some of the things suggested by the other posts because if she is doing it to you she is probably doing it to others. Keep posting and let us all know what is going on.
