on the good side as long as you file a report with the FBI , I think this loss is TAX DEDUCTIBLE :D
now the bad news is you cant claim it till next year :(

but seriously I feel for ya, you should have asked your OSO brothers for the advice BEFORE this deal went down

So sorry to hear! This sux. Saw this happen with $10k for a rental place before.


[I think this loss is TAX DEDUCTIBLE]


I think not, the loss has to be 10% of your AGI, adjusted gross income. :(

When I sold my last boat I made the buyer do a bank to bank wire transfer its the only way to. You can also get the confirmation and routing #s as your reciept that the money has been transfered it is guaranteed funds.

You bank guys are scaring me. You mean to tell me that if I have a check or a cashiers check in my hand from US Bank made out to me and I show up at any ole' US Bank to cash it that they don't do a background check on the validity of the check before cashing it?

Any US Bank should be able to tell the check holder within minutes if the check presented is good. All they would have had to do is call the branch that issued the check.

Lets just say that TimG did not have a bank account and he was handed a cashiers check, how would that person get his money?

What really bothers me is that the banks and retailers are real quick to swipe a 50 or 100 dollar bill to see if it is conterfeit but walk away when handed a 5,000 cashiers check :confused:

I am in business and on occasion, I suspect a customer handing me a check that I feel will be ISF, so I immediately call the bank that is printed on the check, give them the check number, account number check amount and within minutes they can tell me if the check is good, forged etc... If it is good, I immediately go to that bank with the check, hand it to the teller, ask them to make me out a cashiers check (only because payment was made to a company and they will not cash it) and I return back to my bank with the cashiers check and make a deposit.

Round trip plane fair to the uk 800.00 dollars
kicking the szyt out of the a-sh-le who ripped you off and getting back on the plane ........Priceless!!!!:D
Sorry to hear gotta be something you can do..file w/the fbi as topdj suggested.

The good & The bad !!!
 

I hate to hear this has happend to someone on OSO.

The GOOD - Just sold a boat to a guy in Holland. A few emails and he "WIRED" the money to the account (A seperate "wire To" holding account to protect the main account. Told him there was a 14 day waiting period even though the bank told me a wire was a definate thing. Funny at this point there was not even a legal contract. Sent the boat, contract and title to the exporter in Jacksonville and off it went. was an easy transaction, the man has his boat and is happy.

Key here was it was a wire.

THe BAD. - there was an article in "Boating Industry" magazine & "BoatUS" magazine about these scams.

recently had a guy call me from a Sprint teletype where a mediator reads you there typing. Wanted to do same thing - Purchase an expensive trailer, Send cashiers check for amount and extra for shipper and an extra $300 for my trouble and expenses (Clue #1). Wanted me to wire money (Clue #2) to the shipper to cover their cost ($2,500.00) of picking up trailer, going and getting boat and delivering. He did not have a specific boat model to provide and did not want to provide information needed for the MSO (BIG clue). His primary focus was making sure we would wire his shipper the money.

Told this guy he needs to pay the shipper direct (Clue #3 - why wire the shipper the funds prior to pick up & why have me be the middle man?) and there is a hold to verify credibility of check - he dissappeared/hung up.

WE DO take cashiers checks and furtunately, to do the MSO, we do have the contact information. I would still maintain a very high percentage of boaters are very credible, good honest people.

Troutly I think that his implication there is that a phone call back would have been nice and I agree.

Dude that sucks but I have to agree that at some piont and time you should have known that it was not quite right. However I also know how it can go when you get bussy and you make decisions that you normally would not. Live and learn. It will not kill ya I hope that you lost the money. Certainly hurts but not the end of the world. I just got hosed by a customer for 20G's so I know what you are feeling.

Jon

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hp500efi
[B]You bank guys are scaring me. You mean to tell me that if I have a check or a cashiers check in my hand from US Bank made out to me and I show up at any ole' US Bank to cash it that they don't do a background check on the validity of the check before cashing it? [QUOTE]

There are people who have 30 to 40 checks to cash, it would be impossible to verify every single one. And even if they did, it would NOT guarantee that by the time the check cleared the other bank that things would still be the same.

Since it takes more than a day for that check to reach the OTHER bank, the account could have been closed or overdrawn or worse.


Any US Bank should be able to tell the check holder within minutes if the check presented is good. All they would have had to do is call the branch that issued the check.

What if the check is a copy of your bank account? How would they know you didn't write it? If a grocery store presents 4000 checks, should that bank teller call every single one??

Lets just say that TimG did not have a bank account and he was handed a cashiers check, how would that person get his money?

Tim would have to go to the bank the check was drawn on. That would be the only way he could cash it without having an account they could "charge it back" to.

If that bank was too far away, then most likely TimG would open an account at some bank locally. But if he did open a new account, they would hold the check funds for 10 working days. He couldn't spend it until that bank knew the check was cleared.


Sorry, but there is NO way they can tell a check is forged unless they actually call the customer who wrote it and say "Did you write this check?"

The only thing they can tell you is if there are no stop payments and if there are funds available to cover it -- and if you listen closely, they will say funds are good "AT THIS TIME", because 10 minutes later, that account COULD be emptied out.
It also could have a stop payment put on it.

Nobody at the bank has any control over this.

If the check is from another bank, they know less about that check than you do.

Sorry that last reply is so messed up, but I can't edit my posts anymore for some reason.

I had a guy contact me as well with the same deal - Harry Kewell - [email protected] -

I told him to Western Union me the exact amount for the transaction instead of his deal and I never heard from him again.

Here are the messages - so beware!

Harry Kewell <[email protected]> wrote:
ASSURE OF PAYMENT ON THE WAY AND BUSINESS TRUST!!!

Hello ,
Thanks for the email and i appreciate your whole honesty and transparency in this transaction.........As regards to the check my client has already made me understand that you will surely be receiving the check as soon as possible,so as soon as you have got the check i will need you to please get back to me immediately that you have got the check so that i will provide for you the name and address of where the excess funds will be sent to because the shipping agent will be coming for the pick up of the goods that same day they have retrieved the funds here.....Also my client has made me understand that you will be receiving a Cashier's Check that is Drawn in an American Bank so i will need you to take the check to the bank and have the check cashed this is to say the check should not be
deposited o.k.........I hope all i have explained in this mail is understood,so please be expecting the check......And i hope the goods are still in a gr eat shape,because right now i have contacted the shipping company and they have confirmed to me that they will surely get back to you via email so as soon as you've got their email you please get back to them immediately....Lastly,i will need you to go and search for a WESTERNUNION Local Store in which the excess funds can be wired through to the shipping company easily and fast,i will be very much glad in your next email that you have located a WESTERNUNION local outlets in which the excess funds can be sent through to the shipping company,so you get bact to me with the name of the WESTERNUNION local store you have located.....Looking forward to a successfull transaction smoothly and quickly....
Regards,
HARRY


Good to hear from you and thanks for the mail.My client who said he's interested in your ITEM has promised to be buying it and will be issuing a certified cashier's check of $5,500 and you deduct the amount of your ITEM which is $2050 after which you will send the difference via westernunion money transfer to my P.A here in Europe to settle our shipper to book us for their cargo, come over to your place to pick the ITEM up and get it transported to the Europe.
To bring to your attention,It only takes (24HRS) for a certified cashier's check to get cash in the US,so i will like you to get the check cashed the same day it's presented on the counter and i will also like to know if i can count on you to send the difference of the money to my P.A as soon as the check get to you and verified.To make things fast and convenient for the both of us,i will like you to give me the exact name you want on the check.....Your mailing a
ddress....(Street,City,State and zip code) and your Phone # so i can forward it to my associate,so he could start with the procurement of the check and won't mind to engage in a long lasting bussiness relationship.
Thanks and hope to hear from you soon,
Regard's,Harry