Mediation
Coral Springs-Broward
County
A senior citizen purchased a
cellular phone from a retailer. The
phone did not perform and had some technical difficulties. When the store was contacted they indicated
they would replace the phone. This did
not happen, in fact, they redirected her to the service provider. The provider in turn sent her back to the
retailer. Seniors vs. Crime was
contacted and assistance was requested.
The volunteers began mediation with the retailer and a negotiated
settlement was agreed upon by both parties.
High Pressure Sale
Okeechobee-Okeechobee
County
An elderly lady (90 years old)
requested help in having a mattress and bed frame returned. When shopping, the sales person insisted that
the mattress and bed frame was what she needed and the size difference did not
matter. The salesperson kept her there
for an hour and beleaguered her with an array of confusing information. She
agreed to the purchase and had the products delivered. The bed was too big for the room and was
unusable. When the store indicated reluctance
in taking the items back, SvC was called.
The result of SvC intervention was the mattress and bed frame returned
and all her money was refunded.
Credit issued and Job
Completed
Pt. St. Lucie-St. Lucie
County
Seniors vs Crime was alerted
to a dispute involving the installation of a type of brand name blinds to be
used throughout the house. This included
motorized blinds which were back ordered.
When the non-motorized blinds were installed the owner saw they were not
the brand he ordered and asked the installation be stopped. There was a dispute about a credit or refund for when the back ordered
blinds were made available.
After many calls to the
complainants and manufacturer, a substantial credit was issued, installation was resumed and
completed.
Down Payment Returned
West Palm Beach-Palm
Beach County
A senior couple hired a
contractor for work on an enclosure. A
deposit of $1400 was given to the contractor in anticipation of the work
commencing in a short period of time. The
contractor never started the project and did not respond to their requests for
a refund. After Seniors Vs Crime
volunteers interceded on their behalf, a full refund of $1400 was issued.
Resolved to satisfaction
Cooper City-Broward
County
A 91-year-old gentlemen had issues
with the paint on the hood of his vehicle.
He made the service people at the dealership aware of this on several
occasions. Seniors vs Crime volunteers
contacted the service manager directly and requested he become involved
personally. The manager asked for some
information on the vehicle and upon receipt of the information he asked for, he
offered to split the cost of the repair even though the warranty had
expired. This was a satisfactory
resolution to all concerned.
Completed repairs
Jensen Beach-Martin
County
The volunteers were made aware
of a problem concerning an elderly lady and faulty materials she claimed needed
to be replaced. Her complaint was about
wrong size impact doors with inserts that were not centered and handles which
did not fit properly. When the installer
was contacted by Seniors Vs Crime he agreed to dispatch workers to see if
corrections could be made. All repairs
were eventually made and corrected.
Liens removed
N. Miami Beach-Miami
Dade County
A 79-year-old woman who spoke
mostly Russian and very limited English came to the office seeking help for
what she believed to be a notice of foreclosure. The volunteer in the office reviewed her
paperwork and realized she was not in foreclosure, but a lien was placed on her
unit for failure to pay fees. The
volunteer requested she return with the copies of checks or money orders she had paid over the past 2 years,
as well as, the letter of accounting she had received from the attorney who
placed the lien
on behalf of the association. These documents revealed she had paid her fees but 4 of the payments were
never posted by the association. The
property manager was shown the error and the attorney withdrew the lien. The manager also made an apologetic phone
call to the complainant and this was a great relief to her.
New store owner honors
credit
Delray Beach-Palm Beach
County
A senior complained a lady’s
apparel shop would not honor a credit she had gotten 2 weeks earlier. She was told new owners had taken over and
her credit would not be honored. A
telephone call was placed to the manager by one of the volunteers and, after a
brief conversation, it was agreed the customer would receive a cash settlement.
RV Dealer Complaint
Sun City Office- Hillsborough County
A complainant
contacted Seniors vs. Crime regarding a complaint against a large RV dealer. He
indicated that he had traded in his RV motor home for a larger used RV motor
home. The sales person assured the buyer that they had a warranty on the RV
Motor Home with low mileage and it had passed an extensive pre-sale
inspection. The salesman stressed the RV
Motor Home was in excellent condition with low mileage. Immediately after
leaving the dealership with the supposedly excellent RV Motor Vehicle he found
the RV had a non-working A/C and major electrical and mechanical issues. The
Dealership refused to take his calls and provided no assistance or support. The
dealership
was not cooperative
with attempts to resolve the matter, but the Sun City Office guided the
complainant to the RV manufactured who assisted him in resolving the issue.
Auto Dealership Complaint
Sun City Office- Hillsborough County
A senior citizen brought her car in for service at the local
dealership needing only a scheduled maintenance. She was approached by salesman
that showed her a new model of her older car. The salesman let her test
drive the new car. After the test drive she was not impressed
and was concerned about any increase to her monthly payment. The
salesman then suggested a lease, and she entered into a lease agreement. The
complainant said she had been exhausted
by the sales procedure and just wanted to go home. She
advised us that no contract or lease papers were presented to her.
Her signed papers arrived many days later making her aware of her
obligation. She contacted the local dealership and complained about the
pressure she felt to sign the paper work and wanted to get out of the lease and
have her old car, but she was informed that her car was already gone. She
contacted Seniors Vs Crime to see if we could help her cancel the lease and get
back a car of equal value. The dealership was aware of the customer's
dissatisfaction & anger and offered her a chance to come in to speak with
them about calling back the lease and selling her the car for the same monthly
payment. The complainant was advised of their offer to meet with them to
discuss these considerations.
Golf Cart
Dealership Complaint
Sun
City Office
A client came into
the Sun City Center Office with a complaint about a local Golf Cart Dealer. She
had purchased a new Golf Cart and it had broken down twice while she was in
traffic. The first time they jump started
it for her but the second time they towed it back to the shop for repair. The
woman insisted that she be given a different cart but the dealership refused
and said they found and fixed the problem. Neither side would give in.
The Sun City
Office arranged for the owner of the dealership to take the woman out for an
extended test drive in traffic to ensure her that the cart problem was fixed.
Both parties agreed and the woman was comfortable with her golf cart after
taking a 45-minute test drive with the owner.
Health Care Facility Complaint
New Port Richey Office
The New Port Richey Office received a complaint from an 88-year-old
male, who had recently lost his wife. At the time of her death, she was a
resident of a long term care facility. Subsequent to her death, the facility
did not refund any of the monies that was to cover her stay if she had not
died. After several months of repeated calls and letters, he was unable to get
the facility to refund the monies that had been paid for his wife’s care even.
As his efforts appeared to be fruitless and frustrating, he finally contacted
Seniors vs. Crime. The New Port Richey office immediately contacted the
facility and was able to get them to refund the $2,983.25 due him. He was very
pleased with the outcome and appreciative of the efforts extended by the office
staff.
Auto
Dealership Complaint
New
Port Richey Office
A young man went to a dealership to purchase a new
automobile. The salesperson presented him with a contract that included an
extended warranty. At that time the salesperson did not give him correct
information about the extended warranty. He quickly discovered that the monthly
payments were too cumbersome and requested they cancel the contract. The
dealership refused to cancel and would not even adjust the payments to a more
reasonable amount. The complainant requested the assistance of Seniors vs.
crime. After much deliberation, the New Port Richey Office was able to get the
contract with the dealership rewritten, and the extended warranty cancelled. A
savings of more than $1,700.00
Hearing
Aid Complaint
New
Port Richey Office
A 70-year-old female purchased a set of hearing aids for
$4,400.00. The hearing aids did not fit and she began having pains and other
ill effects. Within 30 days, she returned the unit to be repaired. After
several attempts, the company could not repair the unit, and refused to refund
her money. She then contacted Seniors vs. Crime and because of the intervention
of the New Port Richey Office, the company reluctantly agreed to refund her
purchase price.
Solar
Power Complaint
Lakeland
Office
A
homeowner in Dundee, Florida arranged to have a solar power system installed in
his home. Payment was arranged by two loans of $10,500.00 and $4,500.00. The
homeowner was assured that he could expect a tax credit and would get a tax
refund of $4,500.00. When the homeowner filed his tax return, he learned that
because of his income, he could not get the tax credit/rebate. The homeowner
indicated that had he known that he could not get the credit, he would not have
bought the system. After the Lakeland Office sent the vendor a letter with the
complainant’s contention, the vendor sent the homeowner a check for $4,500.00.
Internet
Scam Complaint
Lakeland
Office
A
79-year-old female was using her computer when a popup appeared warning her
that her computer was infected with a virus and she had to pay to eliminate the
virus or she would be arrested. She provided them her credit card information.
Subsequently, two more warnings appeared on her computer with the same message.
The complainant then paid a total of $5,500.00. She later realized that she was
a victim of a scam and contacted Seniors vs. Crime with her complaint. The
Lakeland Office contacted her credit card company and they refunded $3,261.00.
One of the companies involved went out of business and the other in India
refused to refund her money.
Auto
Dealership Complaint
Lakeland
Office
An
elderly lady went to an auto dealership to inquire about the trade in value of
her 2003 Prius and 2005 Camry. She later agreed to lease a new automobile and
trade in her two older cars to apply to the payoff of the leased automobile.
After nine months, when she checked her bank finance statement, she noticed
that she had received only credit for one of the trade in cars. After the
Lakeland Office intervened, the dealership offered $3,000.00 to settle the
matter. The complainant accepted this offer.
Time
Share Complaint
Lakeland
Office
A complainant from
Auburndale came to the Lakeland Office and indicated that she and her sister
attended a timeshare presentation. The complainant’s sister signed documents to
purchase a timeshare for $15,000.00. Shortly after this, the complainant was
notified that she owed PayPal Credit $15,000.00 and that a credit card in her
name with a balance of $1,305.00 had been used for the purchase. The
complainant indicated she never signed any papers authorizing the purchase.
When the Lakeland Office intervened, the timeshare company provided documents
with the complainant’s signature. In looking over the documents, the Lakeland
Office determined that the signature appeared to be significantly different
from the complainant’s. The matter was referred to the Orange County Sheriff’s
Office for a criminal investigation. Soon after this the complainant was
refunded payment of $16,305.00 and the contract was cancelled.
Tax
Settlement Complaint
Lakeland
Office
A complainant from
Middletown, NY contacted the Florida AG’s Office. The complaint was submitted
to the Seniors vs. Crime Project. The complainant stated that he provided a
settlement service $14,000.00, to submit a settlement proposal to the IRS for
his taxes. The owner of the business has an office in New York and a home in
Tampa, FL. When the Lakeland Office contacted the owner, he refused to
cooperate. He repeatedly indicated that he needed more documentation of the
monies sent to him. This was provided to him by the complainant. The IRS never
received any payments from the owner of the business. The contract between the
parties was signed at the home of the business owner in Orange County, NY. The
Lakeland Office provided the Orange County District Attorney with the documents
in the case. That agency indicated that they would open a case regarding the
incident.
Subsequently, the
Lakeland office received a phone call from the complainant, thanking the office
for their help. He indicated that a Grand Jury will convene in New York in
January 2016 and that the Postal Inspectors and the IRS are actively involved
with the case.
Car
Dealership Woes
Volusia
County – South Daytona
Mr Jones
purchased a car from a dealer with the understanding that he was to be financed
for 72 months at zero interest. After signing the paperwork, going home and
looking over the contract, he discovered that he had financing for 77 months at
the interest rate of 1.99%. He contacted
Seniors Vs Crime, who contacted the dealer.
In speaking with the dealer, the sleuth was able to negotiate a refund
of $1336. The gentleman was not happy with that amount and advised that he
would go to the head of the car dealerships on his own without further SVC
help.
Walk-in
Tub
Volusia
County – South Daytona
Mrs.
Jones was having problems bathing and contracted with a company to install a
walk in tub. She gave the man a check for $1,100 and a credit card charge for
$1,500. When the man came to install the tub, it was determined that there was
a drainage problem. Mrs. Jones wanted a
refund, so she complained to the Attorney General's office, who in turn
referred the issue to Seniors Vs Crime. We contacted the company and negotiated
a refund of her money, $2,600.
Fee
for Unused Propane
Seminole
County – Altamonte Springs
Mr. Smith
purchased a newly built home in Seminole County that had a propane gas
fireplace, and a pool/spa gas heater.
Included with the home was a buried propane gas tank. A gas company
provided propane and would send bills annually for the tank rental. From time to time they would order propane.
Recently they received a notice that they would be billed a "no usage
fee" because they had not ordered gas since 2010. He received no paperwork
regarding the propane tank. A sleuth
contacted the gas company, and upon explaining the situation, the company
agreed to void the bill for the "no usage fee."
Reimbursement
from Unused Contract
Seminole
County – Altamonte Springs
Mrs.
Smith who is 81 years old and lives in Connecticut had a security service
contract with Company A. Company B went to her home and sold her their
company’s service. They removed the existing company’s equipment and processed
the account. She was receiving two bills,
one from each company. And she dutifully
paid both. Her son in Florida found out
she had been paying the bills for over two years. He then contacted Seniors Vs
Crime. Several sleuths worked on the case, dealing with the son and company A's
office. We finally informed the son that his mom is responsible for the payoff
of the contract from Company A.
Yard Word Not Done
Duval County - Jacksonville
A
94-year-old woman, partially blind, was approached by a man who offered to do
yard work for $500. She wrote him a
check, which he cashed, but never did the work.
We were contacted by the woman’s daughter. We referred the case to Jacksonville
Sheriff’s Office JSO Economic Crimes.
They began a full investigation and an arrest is imminent. Unfortunately, we were not able to recover
the $500, but the family was satisfied the scammer will be arrested.
Travel
Company Upscaling
Duval
County - Jacksonville
An
elderly woman (76) who is not in good health and not wealthy, attended a
meeting hosted by a travel company. They
presented their travel products in a well-designed presentation. She signed up for the package. On her first trip, she was disappointed with
the amenities and complained. She was
told that she was on the “Bronze Plan” and to upgrade her accommodations, she
would need to sign up for the next level. She did, and was upgraded to a better
room. On her next trip, the same thing
happened, so she signed up for the 3rd level.
At that point, she was in debt to the company for $60,000. She eventually paid $5,000, but could not
afford the remaining $55,000. That was
when she contacted SVC.
The
travel company is incorporated in Mexico, but has a US office in Miami. Our sleuth contacted the office and spoke
with their representative, multiple times.
It was agreed our client would write a letter of explanation and request
to withdraw from the travel plan contract.
This letter would then be presented to their Board for approval. The Board eventually voted to allow her out
of the contract. Once they have her
request for a release in writing, they will formally release her from the
contract. We expect receipt of that
release after the Holidays, and will continue to follow-up. Upon completion, the final savings to our
client will be the $55,000.
Septic
System Overflowed
Duval
County - Jacksonville
Our
clients, a couple working through a real estate agent, purchased a house that
was listed by another agency. The
listing agent told them the house was on city water and sewer, and the
inspection report did not refute that.
The couple moved in. Shortly
thereafter, the septic system, which was either unknown or undisclosed by the
listing agent, overflowed. The couple
was not able to obtain any satisfaction on their own. The case came to SVC. Our sleuths contacted the listing agent on
behalf of the owners and were able to negotiate the installation of a new
septic system, a $6,500 cost. The
homeowners were not charged this fee and it was paid by the realtor.
Cheated
by Roommate
Nassau
County - Fernandina Beach
An
elderly gentleman who was legally blind and hard of hearing was brought to our
office by his caregiver. This gentleman's roommate, currently in jail, had
apparently gotten his debit card and fraudulently withdrew $860. With the
assistance of several Senior Sleuths and cooperation from his bank we were able
to get his money back, get his old card canceled and a new one issued. Since
this client was living solely on Social Security our assistance was greatly
appreciated.
Gutter
Installer
Nassau
County - Fernandina Beach
One of our residents came to our office seeking help in recovering money
she paid to a gutter installer who never did the promised work. Although this
person did not get a signed contract, she did take a picture of the perpetrator's
van with his logo and phone number on the side. This picture enabled us to call
him and persuade him to return our client's $1000. She was very pleased as she
had tried repeatedly to get the money returned herself to no avail.
Home
Alarm System
Nassau
County - Fernandina Beach
This gentleman came to our office seeking help in getting his home alarm
system contract canceled. It had an automatic renewal clause however our client
had put them on notice not to renew. His attempts to have the contract canceled
and his money returned were futile...until we intervened. The contract was
canceled retroactively and the client's money was returned. Fortunately, this
person was a good record keeper and we had times and dates which helped convince the alarm
company to cooperate.
Auto
Transport Carrier
Putnam
County – Palatka
In March
of 2015, we received an 800# message to return from our Regional Director. Upon returning the call, we received a
complaint from a lady in South Florida concerning an auto transport carrier she
had contracted with to transport her car from New York to Florida for the
winter. She had signed a contract with a
broker who took her $200 deposit and quoted her the rate of $650, leaving a balance
of $450 due at time of pickup, including pickup and delivery dates for
transporting the car. Since the SVC
sleuth investigating the case was in that business for 15 years, he decided
that we should look into this case since that particular business is known to
have a lot of unfair practices.
Upon
reviewing her complaint, we realized that this lady had her “ducks in a row”
and had everything documented to back up her complaint. The Broker portrayed himself to be transport
carrier.
The
carrier did not show up on the scheduled pickup date. When the carrier finally showed up with her
car in Florida, they demanded an additional payment of $750 before they would
leave her car. She had no choice, but to
pay the additional charge.
Over the
course of the next few months, we received five more complaints from friends of
our original complainant who had also contracted with this Broker.
Some of
the complainants had put up their deposit and had cancelled the contract with
the Broker after hearing our victim’s story.
The way the contract read, the deposit does not become non-refundable
until the transport is actually assigned to a carrier. The jobs are listed on a common brokerage
board of vehicles to be transported by the Broker and the transport carrier has
to call the Broker to get the details on the load and accept the job.
Even
though these jobs had not yet been assigned to a carrier, the Broker refused to
refund the deposit and threatened to sue the victim. We had also been contacted by one of the
transport carriers who had attempted to pick up one of the cars and contacted
the owner to make the arrangements. This
was long after the victim had cancelled the load. The transport carrier alleged that the Broker
had forged the victim’s name on the paperwork the carrier had been provided by
the Broker.
At that
point, we felt we had enough information to “bubble it up” to the OAG since
these cases involved interstate transport.
Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in getting any of their money back,
but hopefully the OAG’s office will have more success. The OAG assigned our issues to one of their
offices in South Florida for handling.
Auto
Dealership
Putnam
County - Palatka
On June
1, 2015, our client came to us and requested our assistance with a dispute with
a local auto dealership. He had visited
the dealership on May 29, 2015 to look at new cars. He test drove a Mustang and told the salesman
that he had $5,000 to put down on a new car and would have to finance the
balance. He proceeded to sign the
appropriate paperwork and went home.
He was to
return the following morning with the $5,000 down payment, but realized after
returning home that he really could not afford the car payment. The next morning, which was a Saturday, he
called the dealership and told him he didn’t feel he could afford the car and
backed out of the deal.
The
salesman informed him that he had until 4 PM that afternoon to come in with his
deposit and pick up the car or they would sue him.
We sent
the dealership a letter requesting their side of the story and asked that they
rescind the contract since our client did not feel he could afford the car
payment. They agreed to do so and we
were able to successfully conclude the case on his behalf.
Durable
Medical Equipment
Putnam
County - Palatka
An
elderly lady with many medical issues came in over a dispute with a medical
equipment sales and rental company. She
wanted to purchase a nebulizer as prescribed by her physician. She went to the company on April 22, 2015 to
purchase a portable nebulizer and was advised by the sales person that her
insurance co-pay would be $100, which she paid.
Five
months later she got a bill for the rental of the nebulizer. She called and complained to the company that
she had purchased the machine and did not rent it. They wouldn’t even talk to her about it.
We sent a
letter to the company and they agreed to rescind the original deal and refund
the $100 she had spent on the nebulizer which she agreed to return. As it turned out, the machine had quit
working so she was very happy to get her money back and get rid of the machine.
Hot
Water
St.
Johns County – St. Augustine Beach
An
elderly couple who resided in un-incorporated St. Johns County came into the
office with the following complaint. Both are on social security fixed income and
own their home which was several years old. They invested in a new hot water
heater for their aging home approximately 2 years prior. When making this
investment they wanted an energy efficient hot water tank to save on their
fixed monthly budget. They chose a GE brand hybrid tank which has a condenser
type recovery unit on the top of the tank which greatly increases efficiency.
With the purchase of the hot water tank came a 3-year unlimited warranty. The
hot water tank was however expensive, but the couple purchased it with the
impression of substantial monthly savings. The purchase price was approximately
$2,800. The couple advised much detail about how two months ago the hot water
tank stopped working and they called the local plumber who installed the tank.
The plumber examined the tank and found a broken part in the recovery
condenser. A call was made to GE to
order the part. A few days later the replacement part came in and the plumber
was called to install it. This is where their problem began. The part would not
fit. A call was made to GE by the plumber who was advised by GE that the
original part was no longer being produced and this was the best possible
substitute part they could provide. The plumber told the couple this part would
not fit at all and would not correct the hot water tank problem. The couple in
the meantime were without hot water in their home for about 2 months as they
made an unlimited number of phone calls to GE customer service trying to get
their hot water tank replaced which was included in their warranty. The couple
were unable to purchase another tank since all of their funds had been expended
on the purchase. Upon taking on the case, St. Johns SVC made three phone calls
to GE. Immediate attention was given the complaint including a phone call from
the GE Vice President of Sales to the sleuth. After providing the details of
the complaint to the Vice President she immediately contacted the senior
couple. Two days later they had a brand
new hot water tank installed in their home at no cost to them. The couple came
into the SVC office the following week in tears to thank us for getting hot
water back into their home.
Estate
Sale
St.
Johns County – St. Augustine Beach
A
94-year-old senior decided to sell her home and move into an assisted care
living facility in St. Augustine. The assisted care facility was much smaller
than her home requiring her to limit the amount of belongings that she could
take with her into the new living quarters. The senior decided to contract with
an estate sale company to sell her belongings and she moved into her new
apartment. Several months later the senior had received only a small amount
from the estate sale company for her belongings that had been sold. The senior
advised our office the estate sale company had not sold the items at the agreed
upon values and she refused to sign a final release form for the amount the
estate sale company was offering her to close out their sale contract. The SVC
sleuth made contact with the estate sale company on behalf of the senior client
and after several weeks was able to obtain a settlement amount in excess of
what had been offered the senior client. The unfortunate part of this story is
the senior client had become quite ill with terminal cancer and was now hospitalized.
The senior’s son, who was now in charge of her affairs, was very thankful for
all of the efforts of the SVC in bringing this matter to a successful
conclusion for his mother.
IRS/Lottery
Scam
St.
Johns County – St. Augustine Beach
Scammers contacted
an elderly client and claimed to be from the IRS Awards Department indicating
she had won a $2.5 million lottery and that they were holding the funds until
taxes were paid on the prize. The client believed they were legitimate and sent
them $180,000 from her savings as instructed. The prize money did not come as
promised and in fact the scammers re-contacted her to advise there was a delay
in the release of the funds. At this point she became suspicious and contacted
the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office who took on the criminal case. The
Sheriff Office Detective requested our assistance in getting her compromised
credit accounts and identity theft issues protected from further damage since
she was overwhelmed by the various procedures. The scammers attempted to revive
her trust by sending her payments of over $16,000 in cash. After talking to the Sheriff’s Detective and
us, she realized not to trust them anymore. We completed our case by finalizing
reports to the FTC, Credit Bureaus, and the IRS on her behalf. The scammers in
this case apparently operate out of a Caribbean Island and are very
knowledgeable about how to manipulate the elderly. The Sheriff’s Detective
advised Federal Law Enforcement Agencies are also involved with the
investigation.
The
System Does Work
Flagler
County – Palm Coast
This is a
story of a “landscaper” and two ladies ages 94 and 73. Both these ladies gave
this man a total of $3,100 to do work around their garden landscaping which
were never started. The “landscaper” had a long history with the City of Palm
Coast Tax and Code Enforcement Department with dissatisfied senior complaints
against the individual. However, since the “landscaper” was not licensed there
was not much that the City could do regarding the complaints. The two ladies
attempted to address their complaints with the landscaper and after two months
contacted our new Senior Vs Crime Program in Flagler County. The two ladies
were patient as numerous correspondences took place between our office and the
“landscaper” without much success. Assistance was offered and provided for the
two ladies in pursuing criminal actions against the “landscaper” by the Flagler
County Sheriff’s Office. When the “landscaper” became aware of pending criminal
Charging Affidavits he returned the cash amounts to both individuals. Both
ladies were extremely happy to receive such outstanding assistance from the SVC
Office and the recovery of all of their funds when they thought all hope was
gone to ever recover those funds.
Like
A Fire Dogs Spotted Coat
Flagler
County – Palm Coast
A senior
client and his wife came to the Flagler SVC Office to complain that they had an
extensive painting and stucco repair job done on their home. There was white
paint showing thru the darker paint that had been applied as well as some of
the stucco repairs were falling off the home. The clients described the poor
paint job as; “like a fire dogs spotted coat”. All efforts to get the painter
to come back and inspect the poor job went unanswered. Contact was made with
the painter by our office and a meeting set at the substation conference room
with the client and painter. Both parties attended the meeting and after
informal mediation the painter agreed to return to the client’s home and
address their complaints about the job. After all was said and done the painter
repainted the whole house and repaired the stucco at no cost to the clients at
a savings of $3000.
The
Not So Weatherproof Doors
Flagler
County – Palm Coast
A senior
client from Palm Coast purchased custom exterior doors for his home this past
summer from a local building supplier in Flagler County at a premium price.
Included in the sale was installation and a warranty. The client had to wait an
extended period of time to receive the doors because the order was a custom
order. Upon receipt of the doors they were promptly installed and the order
paid for. Then a problem began. The first rain shower came and flooding took
place all over the client’s interior carpet floors from the doors extensive leaking.
The client contacted the building supplier who was slow to send out a
representative to investigate the complaint. The representative reported back
to the company that the doors appeared alright and the flooding must have been
from something else. As time went on each rain storm brought more flooding to
the interior of the client’s home. The client contacted our office who in turn
contacted the building supplier. After numerous telephone calls from our office
to the building supplier, they decided to conduct extensive testing of the door
seals and found them defective after all. The building supplier replaced all
the door seals and damaged carpeting at no cost to the client which came to
several hundred dollars. The client reported all flooding had stopped and was
pleased with the outcome.
AC
Troubles
Orange
County - Orlando
Mrs. Bell, 81 years old, was having trouble with
her AC and her daughter and son in law were in Michigan. She called a company
out to fix the AC. When the man advised
her that the problem was bad and that it was dangerous for her to be in the
house. He advised her he could fix it
and the cost would be $6,010. Mrs Bell gave him a deposit of $2,000. The next
day two men showed up and worked on it from 9:00 am until 2:00pm. Later that
evening they called and requested the balance of the money due - $3451. The
daughter in Michigan paid the balance on a credit card by telephone. Upon their
return from Michigan, they found a hole in the wall and the panel on the floor.
She called Seniors Vs. Crime who contacted the company. The company advised no permits were filed,
but they would fix the wall and any problems with the AC. The daughter filed
for permits, and after the work passed inspection, she requested a refund of
the charge for the permits. A check of $149 for the permits was received.
Misrepresentation
of Vehicle
Orange
County - Orlando
Mr. James
advised he had purchased a 1970 Nova on-line. The ad specified that it had a
new engine, new stereo for the AM radio, new trunk mat, a spare, and a new
carburetor. It did not have any new
items. He sent a complaint to the company he purchased the vehicle from, but
got no response. He contacted Seniors Vs. Crime. Our sleuth called the company, spoke with the
manager who finally agreed to refund $500 if Mr. James would send a letter
advising he would drop all claims regarding the sale of the vehicle. Mr. James
did so and received a check for $500.
Refund
of Postage
Orange
County - Orlando
Mr. Johns
ordered ski equipment on-line to be sent to his Michigan vacation home. Instead
the company sent them to his Florida home. A neighbor saw the package and
reshipped it to Michigan paying $25 in postage. He was requesting a refund of
that amount from the company. A senior
sleuth contacted the company and a refund of the $25 was sent to Mr. Johns, who
received it a week later.
Defective Roofs
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Beginning in late 2014 and continuing into 2015, numerous area
residents began complaining about defective roofing shingles. Apparently the
granules on their roofing tiles were coming off and clogging up their gutters,
ruining their yards near downspouts, and causing roof leaks as well as
unsightly roofs. Contacts with the vendor failed to resolve the issues or
resulted in settlement offers that were unacceptable. Our office
investigations, in coordination with officials from the area government and
home owner agencies, resulted in a conclusion that the vendor had a
manufacturing defect in roofing tiles install during the 2006 thru 2009-time
period. Apparently two and possibly three styles of roofing shingles were
involved, each with 25 or 30 year warranties. After unsuccessful efforts to
resolve these cases with the vendor, we decided the problem was big enough and
complex enough to be more appropriately handled by the Florida Attorney
General’s Office. In March, 2015, we transferred 212 cases against this one
vendor to the Antitrust Division of the Florida AG’s Office. As cases continue
to be filed with our office, they were immediately transferred to the AG’s Office
so that by year-end, 2015, we had transferred 306 cases against the same vendor
to the AG’s Office. Those cases, for the most part, remain open and under
active investigation by the AG.
Landscaper Issues
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Early in 2015 we began to notice a pattern of complaints
against one particularly large and active landscaping company in our area. As
complaints mounted, we assigned all complaints relating to this company to one
Senior Sleuth. That Sleuth developed a close and cordial working relationship
with the Office Manager at the landscaping company. Due to this good working
relationship, our cases began to be resolved by the landscaping company in a
timely manner. For all of 2015, we open and closed a total of forty-four (44)
cases involving this one landscaping company. Of those cases, three (3) were
closed as unfounded, three (3) were closed as Resolved To Satisfaction with No
Recovery, two (2) were closed as Resolved With A Realized Gain of $1,016.93,
and thirty-six (36) were Resolved With Monetary Recoveries totaling $21,134.82.
We ended the year with no open cases against this particular landscaper and
numerous satisfied clients.
Unapproved Pergola Construction
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Our 73-year-old female client had contracted with a local, licensed
contractor to build a Pergola at her home. The contract called for the builder
to get all necessary approvals and he did obtain a building permit for the
pergola. The pergola was built at a cost of $3461.40 and our client was quite
happy with the outcome. However, the builder had failed to get approval for the
exterior changes to her home from the community association responsible for
approving exterior changes to property. A complaint was made to them that the
new pergola infringed on utility easements. Inspection by that committee
revealed the complaint was valid and our client was instructed that the pergola
had to go. She contacted the contractor who was less than cooperative so she
came to our office for assistance. After verifying all the facts, we contacted
the builder and were able to convince him to return and to remove her pergola,
redesign it in such a manner that it met county and community standards and get
their approvals, and then rebuild her pergola. Our client was quite pleased
with the final product and very appreciative of the assistance provided to her
in this matter.
Ambulance Service Overcharges
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Our client, a 70-year-old lady, had a medical emergency and was
transported to a local hospital by ambulance. Later, she received a bill from
the ambulance service for $611.25 and promptly paid it. Subsequently she
received a Medicare Supplemental Notice that they had paid her ambulance bill
and her co-pay was $202.00. She contacted the EMS billing service to get a
refund on her overpayment and ended up with a royal runaround. That is when she
came to our office for assistance. After some work with the ambulance service,
we were able to get our client a $409.25 refund check.
HO Trains
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Not all cases involve the big bucks; they just involve doing the right
thing. In this case, our 45-year-old male client was an HO scale model train
enthusiast as well as a Reservist in the armed forced. He lived in Kansas but when he contacted our
office for assistance, he was on deployment in Afghanistan. In late 2013 he had
ordered some special decals for HO scale model train freight cars. The order
was placed with a local business in Lady Lake. He had a ton of emails and other
correspondence back and forth between himself and the vendor but what he did
not have was his special order model freight card decals. Working via email
from Afghanistan, he contacted the Florida AG’s Office who referred the case to
our office. After confirming details and that no decals had been received with
his spouse in Kansas, we contacted the local business. Our client had actually
placed three separate orders for decals totaling $38.50. After talking with our
office staff, the local business finally got the special decals made and sent
to our client’s home in Kansas. Our client, who was now back from his
deployment, was most appreciative of our efforts and highly complementary of
the professionalism and dedication of our staff.
Unlicensed Therapeutic Massage Treatment
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Our client, a 68-year-old lady, first came to us because she felt she
was being flimflammed, bamboozled, played, and duped by a medical massage
therapy clinic. She had paid $5200.00 for a series of therapeutic massages.
After only a few massages she could tell it was not helping her paid so she
asked to cancel the contract and get a refund. “No” said the vendor. She looked
further and found that her Massage Therapist was not licensed by the Florida
Board of Massage Therapy. Therapists at this clinic were apparently operating
“under” the license and supervision of one of the owners. Once she came to us
for assistance, we were able to verify, through the Florida Department of
Health, that her Massage Therapist was not licensed so we contacted clinic
management to discuss the situation. In the end, the clinic agreed to, and did,
give our client a full refund of her $5200.00. She was quite pleased with that
outcome.
Ruined Vacation Plans
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Our clients, a handicapped lady of 71, made vacation reservations at a
rather exclusive resort. Her room reservation specifically showed that she had
requested a handicapped-accessible room. When she arrived to check in, she
found that there were no handicapped rooms available. The room she was given
was not near any handicapped parking. Of course she complained to the resort
and was moved to a handicap room within a day or so. She wanted a refund of the
$406.21 she paid for the two nights in a non-handicap room. The resort refused
so she came to us for assistance. After we contacted the resort and pointed out
that her confirmed reservation was for a handicapped-accessible room, the
resort relented and refunded her the $406.21.
Back to Back Cruises
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Our 75-year-old client and his wife booked a cruise through their
travel agent. Through some sort of mix up on dates, two back-to-back cruises
were booked and charged to his credit card. They took the cruise they wanted
and had booked and later, when the credit card statement arrived, learned that
they had “missed” the second cruise which was on the same boat and departed the
afternoon of the day their first cruise returned to the USA. They tried to get
a refund for the second cruise from their travel agent who referred them to the
cruise line for a refund. The cruise line, which was a foreign corporation, was
less than responsive. He came to our office for assistance. After several
months and many calls and letters, the cruise line finally credited his account
with $1918.68 for the second cruise and out client was satisfied.
Extended Warranty Woes
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Our 64-year-old lady client purchased a new car from a local
dealer. She also paid $1600.00 for an
extended warranty on her new car. The car was involved in an accident and
“totaled” by her insurance company.
Insurance paid off the loan on her car. Our client contacted the
warranty company for a refund on the unused portion of her extended warranty.
After some calculations, the warranty company cut a check for $476.60 and sent
it to the dealer. The only problem was that the dealer was now out of business
and no one could tell her where her check went.
When she inquired concerning her refund check at the warranty company
office, she was told that she had already been paid. She came to our office for
assistance in getting her refund check. After considerable work and effort, we
finally got the warranty company to stop payment on the “lost” check and issue
a refund check for $476.60 directly to our client.
DNA Testing
Sumter Office-Sumter County
Our 84-year-old lady client went to a local walk-in clinic for
treatment of a foot injury. While there they asked for a DNA sample for testing
at “no charge to her” so she let them swab her mouth. Later she received a bill
from the testing lab for $1379.91 for “genetic DNA testing”. The bill had been
submitted to Medicare who denied the claim as not appropriate for her injuries.
She came to us because she did not agree to pay for anything and was being
billed for a test she had not requested. After we contacted the lab as well as
the local walk-in clinic, they agreed to cancel her bill. Our client was really
relieved to learn she did not have to pay that $1379.91 for DNA testing that
she neither wanted nor requested. She thanked us profusely for our efforts on
her behalf.
Home Warranty
Ocala Office-Marion County
Our client had a total home warranty policy and they sent out an air
conditioning contractor to repair her air conditioner. She was scammed by the a/c company for
excessive charges and they also did damage to her existing unit by cutting
outside lines, supposedly in preparation for installing new unit to save time
in draining out the Freon which allowed the Freon to escape into the
environment.
She was forced into purchasing a new unit by the a/c technician who
gave her a list of many problems such as new evaporator coils, air handler had
mold and other problems. Price quoted to
fix a/c was $11,999.00. He informed her that her home warranty company would
cover $2000 so her total cost would be $9999.
She signed a contract agreeing to the price. Later on she decided that this was excessive
and contacted another a/c company. This
2nd company gave her a quote of $2000 to service the old unit, noting that
since the Freon lines to her home had been cut, it rendered the a/c
inoperative.
This went on and between her and the home warranty company and she
found out that they would have covered replacing the evaporator coil and $10
toward each lb. of Freon for about $720.
Her goal was to recover $3650 from her home warranty company for the
cost of new a/c. After much haggling, we
were able to get them to reimburse her $3650.
She was still trying to report the first a/c company for non-compliance
issues and has also filed complaints with several other agencies. She thanked us for our assistance with the
matter. Recovery was $3650
Faulty Flooring
Ocala Office-Marion County
Our client paid a flooring company $5260 for flooring and $2945 for an
installation from a sub-contractor without realizing that he was not actually
employed by the flooring company.
There were numerous problems with the install, including flooring not
fitting all the way to the metal of the sliding glass door, buckling in various
places and soft in places because of not adhering to the subflooring. They did not realize some of the softer areas
until they moved furniture. Some of the
flooring did not completely reach the baseboards either.
After repeated attempts to resolve this and the installer not doing
anything, we got involved with the store manager. This was a waste of time as he did not care
much either. We then went to the head
office and spoke with the owner and informed him of poor attitude of store
manager and also poor workmanship of sub-contractor.
Apparently, the store manager had other complaints about this installer
and admitted he wasn't the best available.
Our clients were trying to sell their home and at last the store sent
out their best installer who worked for them and all was fixed to their
satisfaction. Realized gain = $8205.
Cable vs. Satellite
Ocala Office-Marion County
Our client had cable TV and cable internet and lives in a mobile home
park. Her immediate neighbors all have
DirecTV and HughesNet Internet and they convinced her she would get more for
her money with that. She called the
number for DirecTV and HughesNet installation and gave her information for
direct debit for payment. The installer
showed up and was not from either company, but a sub-contractor working for an
audio and video installation company. He
went up on her roof for a while and came down and went inside and told her he
could not get the signal for DirecTV or HughesNet and had installed a DISH
antenna and Wild Blue from Exede instead.
She could not figure that one out as her neighbors had what she had
asked for and there was no tree blocking her location.
While the installer was in the house, he checked her living room TV for
correct alignment and stated to her that everything was OK. She had gone into another room and when she
entered the room he was in she noticed that he had some sort of small electronic
tablet and the screen was lit. He
punched something on the screen and shut it down. He handed her the modem for the internet with
all the cables and left her standing there with this box in her hand. He did not set up the bedroom TV for her and
never turned on her computer at all, just said that all was OK and now she has
internet service and left. She was very
upset with this whole deal and when she turned on her computer, she had no
internet and no idea how to get it. She
did call Dish and they helped her get the bedroom TV started and she did tell
them her story and they of course said that she had a 2-yr contract with them
and the penalty for cancelling it was $384.
Then she called WildBlue (Exede) and told them her troubles and couldn't
get anywhere with them. Her acct had been charged to her debit card for the
first month’s service already.
She received emails from DISH and WildBlue with the contracts contained
in the email. The installer gave her
zero paperwork! He had punched in her
name as accepting the terms and her electronic signature appears on the
contracts in the email.
Eventually she came to us, and since we have had some contact with
DISH, we know they can be good to deal with, and she talked to people there
also and her contract with DISH was cancelled.
Meanwhile we were working on the WildBlue problem. We managed to convince Wild Blue that her
account was done through fraud, switching what she asked for and using her
debit card and information to do it.
When she tried to talk to WildBlue, they told her that her account had
actually been used on the installation date for a few minutes, but it was the
installer, not her. Wild Blue also told her that it would cost her $170 for
someone to come out and take off the internet receiver from her roof, so at 71
years old, with bad knees she went up on the roof and took the whole thing
down, internet and Dish antenna. Amazing
and determined woman!
Her debit card was cancelled, no new charges were to go on to new card
through an account transfer and all ended well for her. Her realized gain was $768 and she was so
happy with Seniors vs. Crime that she came in and hugged us, gave us a bag of
Chik'Filet sandwiches and some cookies and cupcakes.
Noisy New Appliance
Ocala Office-Marion County
Our client purchased new fridge with an extended 3-year warranty. This fridge made terrible loud noises and
knocking sounds which woke them up at night.
They had repeated service calls and they were constantly told this was
how it was supposed to be. They
contacted us and also a last chance for the service guy, who removed the fridge
filter and said they didn't need it. It
stopped making noises for a while and we thought it was over, but not so. Noises resumed again, calls were made by us,
and eventually more than a year after buying the fridge the store replaced it
with a new model, which as the client said, "made Momma happy" and a
whole new 3-year warranty. Good deal! Client says since we work for peanuts, he
brought us a big container of peanuts and M&Ms and told us about the new
fridge which was valued at $1,100.
Travel Company Taken by Con Man
Clermont Office-Lake County
A small business owner and his assistant came into the office in
mid-August for assistance. They had a business that set up special VIP travel
packages for groups based on the interest of the groups. They had been engaged by another
“businessman” in later July who wanted to book their services. Their client stated he would provide our
client with the credit card information of his group members which would cover
the cost of our client’s services. He
also agreed to provide the driver’s license and/or passport information of the
individuals in his group for identification.
Our client agreed and explained that the desired program required five
days and for $5,500 per person, but didn’t include meals or lodging although
those arrangements could be made. They
agreed on the deal. Shortly thereafter,
our client was instructed to withdraw an additional $10,800 from the credit
cards they had been provided access to but since they had already withdrawn
$30,700 to cover the original cost, they withdrew the funds from their own
account and sent a check to the person who had acted as the group’s agent. They continued to hear from the agent and
continued to provide that person with additional funds from their own
account. They finally asked how their
withdrawals would be covered and were told by the agent that he would cover the
costs when he met them in September.
We told our client he needed to refund the $30,700 to each of the
clients in the travel group since this was obviously a scam and that the owners
of the cards would be getting their statements and discover the fraud. He agreed and contacted the credit card
companies and refunded the money.
However, before they had gotten to the last credit card company, one of
the banks involved had reversed the charge into the bank account of the
client. They wanted us to recoup the
lost $10,800.
We made contact with each of the 7 travel group members and each had
been victims of identity theft and credit card fraud.
They were referred to law enforcement for further investigation.
Dishonest HVAC Repair
Citrus Office-Citrus County
Our office was contacted by an individual who had recently had their
air conditioning unit replaced. They had
been contacted by a local company offering a $29.99 “summer checkup”. When the technician arrived he opened up the
unit and immediately began yelling to turn it off it was going to explode. He then told the customer that the unit was
shot and was in danger of exploding.
Based on that information the customer contracted to have the unit
replaced. When the crew came out the
next day to replace the unit the customer asked if he could keep the old unit
and they said yes.
The customer kept the unit
because his brother wanted to put it on a rental house in Miami and get it
fixed. Once the unit was in Miami the
brother hired a contractor to hook it up and fix it. However, once it was hooked up the new
contractor could find nothing wrong with the unit. As a result, the original customer came to
our office to file the complaint. We
were able to acquire documentation from the manufacturer, the wholesaler, the
original contractor that installed it in the home only two years prior and from
the contractor in Miami to verify that it was the same unit. We turned the case over to law enforcement
and the assigned detective followed up and found two additional cases similar
to this one. He sent the case to the
State’s Attorney’s Office and they declined to file saying that it was civil in
nature.
Pool Installation Taking Too Much Time
Citrus Office-Citrus County
Our office was contacted by an individual who had contracted to have a
pool installed in his home. The contract
called for the work to be completed within a 3-month period however, 6 months
had passed and the pool was not completed.
The complainant said he had attempted contact with the contractor but
was not getting any returned calls. He
had paid $17,000 in advance to get the construction started and either wanted
his money back or the pool competed.
After multiple attempts we were finally able to contact the contractor
and after multiple discussions were able to acquire a new schedule that was
agreed upon by both parties. The pool
was later completed resulting in a realized gain of $17,000.
Paving Contractor Arrested
Citrus Office-Citrus Office
We were contacted by an individual who had paid to have his driveway
resurfaced by a local contractor. Our
complainant had paid $2400 in advance however no work had been completed. In the process of researching this case we
discovered four other complainants who encountered the same situation with the
same contractor. We determined this to
be criminal in nature and forwarded the case to the Sheriff’s Office. The subject was later charged as a result of
these cases. No actual recovery was
made.
Car Purchase Reversed
Gainesville Office-Alachua County
A complainant reported to Seniors vs. Crime that her adult brother, who
suffers from medically documented mental illness(es), had recently wandered
into a new car dealership. He was
approached by a salesman and a discussion ensued about purchasing a new car. The brother was acting strangely enough that
the salesman asked if there was anyone he could call; so the salesman phoned
the complainant. The complainant
explained her brother’s frequent inability to make rational decisions and that
he probably does not realize that he is presently at a car dealer. Later that same day the complainant received
another phone call from the salesman, who stated he had just dropped her
brother off at a local hospital because of his unusual mental state and left
him with the keys to his new car.
Needless to say the complainant was upset that her brother had been sold
a new car and immediately phoned Seniors vs. Crime.
This office contacted the dealer’s general manager and offered to
provide available medical documentation about the brother’s mental status, who
had, the day before appearing at the dealership, been released from a mental
health facility. Within two days the
general manager voided the $28,900.00 sale and returned the brother’s down
payment of $6,288.00. The brother
remained under mental health treatment a month after being dropped off by the
salesman.
Not So Hot Solar System
Gainesville Office-Alachua County
A complainant phoned Seniors vs. Crime to report he had purchased a
$42,000.00 solar power installation for his home. For unknown reasons the contractor had failed
for months to finish the installation and wanted the contracted work, which was
paid for in full, completed and operational.
This office determined that frequent building department inspections
found incomplete work so authorization to operate the system could not be
issued. The general contractor was not
cooperative with Seniors vs. Crime; however, sub-contractors, who were also
responsible parties to the uncompleted work, were willing to bring the system
into full compliance to pass inspection and become operational. After six months of cooperation between this
office, sub-contractors and inspectors the system passed inspection and became
operational to the delight of the complainant.
This office will continue to monitor an attempt by the complainant’s
finance company to refund $16,000.00 of general contractor overcharges for the
purchased system.
Roofing Problem
Gainesville Office-Alachua County
A local resident contracted for roof repair by a person holding himself
out as a licensed roofing contractor.
After paying a substantial down payment the contractor seemingly
disappeared. Upon complaint to Seniors
vs. Crime, an investigation determined that the person who presented as a
roofing contractor was instead using the identity of another person who was a
licensed roofing contractor. While
working with the complainant and the complainant’s bank, two cashed checks
written to the unknown person were recovered and found to contain the unknown
person’s driver’s license number and finger print. After this office located and discussed this
situation with the real licensed contractor, he filed a police report with his
local law enforcement agency concerning identity theft and the complainant filed
a fraud complaint with her local law enforcement agency. Both agencies continue to work cooperatively
from the initial findings of this Seniors vs. Crime office toward resolution of
both police reports.
Phony Damage Claim
Gainesville Office-Alachua County
A woman rented a vehicle from a major car rental company for a weekend
rental. She took photos of the vehicle
before and after the rental period along with a photo of the odometer reading
at the time of its return. Three days
after returning the car the rental company wrote to the woman claiming that
exterior damage was caused to the vehicle during her rental period and charged
her $790.00 for the damage. The woman
was certain there was no damage suffered during her rental period and
complained to Seniors vs. Crime about the rental company charging her for
damage.
The complainant supplied Seniors vs. Crime with her photos and photos
from the rental car company along with their claim documents that included
documents from the repair shop and towing company. Inspection of all documents found a 2-mile
discrepancy between when the complainant dropped off the car and when the tow
company picked it up at the car rental company for delivery to the repair
shop.
The rental car company was queried by Seniors vs. Crime for an
explanation of how the vehicle acquired 2 extra miles after the complainant
returned the vehicle. Instead of
providing an explanation about the mileage discrepancy the car rental company
dropped its damage claim against their customer, who was very relieved to be
out from under the $790.00 claim.
Shady Deals with The Contractor
Marion Office-Marion County
In June 2014, the complainant took a building loan out from a major
bank in the amount of $140,000 to build a new home. She hired a General
Contractor to oversee the building of this home, and gave that contractor the
names of tradesmen she wanted to work on the construction.
Everything seemed to be going well until the complainant was told that
the person in charge of the loan expenditures was no longer at the bank. The
bank would not tell her anything else about this. The complainant asked for a
list of contractors, and a copy of the expenditures from the bank. She was also
given a copy of a W-9, a Federal Tax Form, and a bank notarized form listing an
Electrical Company as doing electrical work on the construction site, and being
paid for that work. After the
complainant contacted that company, they told her they were not doing any work
for the General Contractor she hired and certainly not doing any work on her
building. SVC contacted the Electrical
Company owner. The owner stated that had not received the W-9 form, and did not
sign the notarized bank form. He said
he had gone to the site and confronted a male doing electrical work in the
complainants building. The male was asked what company he was from and he said
the name of the electrician’s company.
When the electrician identified himself as the owner of that company,
the male hastily left. We later learned
that the person doing the electrical work was the general contractor’s brother
and was not a licensed electrician.
The electrical company owner further stated he did not do any work, did
not receive any money from the bank, and did not sign the Federal W-9
form. SVC contacted the General
Contractor who stated she would not speak with SVC without her Attorney. SVC contacted the bank, who would not give
any information regarding any of the above.
The electrical company has made complaints to DBPR, the MCSO, The IRS,
and Marion County Building Dept.
Squeaking/Popping Laminate Floor
Marion Office-Marion County
In 2009 the complainant had laminate flooring installed by a large
flooring company. In 2015 she began to hear the floor POP when she walked on
it. She contacted the Marion SVC Office, who contacted the company that had
installed laminate. SVC was told it would cost the complainant close to $5,000
for a new floor. SVC then contacted the manufacturer of the laminate, who said
the flooring company had not put the proper underlayment down.
After numerous conversations with the flooring company SVC was able to
have a new floor installed at no cost to the complainant.
Refund Collected
Marion Office-Marion County
A son representing the estate of his deceased mother contacted SVC
Marion Office requesting assistance in recovering funds being held by an adult
family care home business. He had been trying to recover these funds for 5
years. Despite numerous broken promises,
small payments, and bad checks the home still owed him almost $13,000. SVC contacted the home’s owner, who stated
she had used the elderly woman's funds to expand the home business.
After numerous phone calls, and negotiations by SVC over 3 months, SVC
recovered $12,877.00 for the estate.
Faulty Washer Installation
Wildwood Office-Sumter County
Client complained about a washer and dryer she had bought and had
installed by a vendor. Installation was not properly done and client developed
a mold and mildew issue. Client called vendor and her insurance company to no
avail. She came to us and we contacted vendor and resolved the problem. Client
received $4188.65 for remediation and reinstallation.
Alarming Alarm Situation
Wildwood Office-Sumter County
Our client complained to SVC that she was being charged for a home
security system through Comcast that she hadn’t contracted for. After several months of trying to resolve
the problem which included a letter from her son who is an attorney, she had no
results and came to us. SVC resolved the
problem and the client received reimbursement in the amount of $319.00
Compressor Problem Not Fixed
Wildwood Office-Sumter County
Client had a replacement compressor installed in her vehicle and went
on vacation. Her vehicle had the same
problem in Richmond Va. She contacted
the original installation company and wanted a rebate for the money she paid to
have the vehicle fixed. After numerous
calls and receiving no satisfaction, she contacted SVC. We contacted the company and the client
received a check for $1203.51
Dishonest Landscaper
Wildwood Office-Sumter County
SVC had received 7 complaints involving a local landscaper who had
pocketed over $80,000 in money paid up front for landscaping services from
these cases and cases handled by other SVC offices in the Villages. Our efforts to resolve these cases were
unsuccessful. All of these cases were
referred to the State’s Attorney for criminal charges. The State’s Attorney
declined to bring charges for some inexplicable reason.
New Owner Makes Good
Wildwood Office-Sumter County
The Wildwood office had received 14 complaints involving a local
landscaping/pest control company, Service Smart, with customers looking for
resolutions to the amounts they paid to Stella Pest Control before Service
Smart took over that company. The takeover resulted in several instances of
confusion causing some very unhappy customers. SVC Sumter office was able to
develop a relationship with the office manager at Service Smart and all
complaints were closed to the satisfaction of the clients.
Landscaping Not Performed
Wildwood Office-Sumter County
Three cases involved a subject by the name of Devin Dodd who took
payment for landscaping services up front and never returned to perform work.
Mr. Dodd was arrested, charged and convicted.
He is currently on probation with restitution ordered.
Used Car Had Bad Motor
Wildwood Office-Sumter County
This case involved the purchase of a 2008 Hyundai Sonata with 85 K
miles on 11-9-15 from Cannon Auto Group Lakeland Florida. The engine overheated
and failed after 15 days. There was a third party warranty which will not cover
the engine. SVC contacted Cannon Auto group and negotiated a settlement for the
client. The auto group and the client will split the cost of the engine repair
estimated to be $5100.00
Job Cancelled-Refund Made
Pennbrooke Fairways Office-Lake County
A client from Fruitland Park contacted our office regarding a $2400
deposit put on her Discover Card for a job with a local aluminum
contractor. She wanted to job to be done
while her son was visiting on vacation.
Her son's plans changed and the client called and cancelled the contract
until a future date. They were reluctant
to return the deposit. After contacting
the company and talking with the representative who wrote the contract, we were
able to have her funds credited back to her Discover Card account.
Unfinished Landscaping Job
Pennbrooke Fairways Office-Lake County
A client came to the office and
wanted to know what could be done to get a company to come and finish a
landscaping job that was contracted and paid for. The company was contacted by the client,
prior to coming to our office and filling out a complaint form, and was told
they would come in a few days and start the job. They came a few days later,
started the job, but left again before finishing the job. Our office tried to contact the landscaper
for well over a month.
Their answering machine said the voicemail was full and could not take
any voicemail until emptied. Several
weeks later, our office tried again and finally contacted the landscaper who
promised to finish the job within the week.
The following business day for our office to be open, we received a
phone call from our client telling us that the landscaping job was finally
completed and to the satisfaction of the client.
Computer Not Working
Levy Office-Levy County
Complainant had purchased a refurbished HP computer from
Tiger Direct for $200. The computer did not work properly. Tiger Direct was
contacted and agreed to replace it with another refurbished HP computer. Upon
receipt of the 2nd computer, complainant said the system was worse
than the 1st computer, and was having difficulty getting Tiger
Direct to refund her money. Staff contacted Tiger Direct, who agreed to issue a
return shipping order for the computer and subsequently refunded the $200 to
the complainant.
Vacuum Sale Not a Clean Deal?
Levy Office-Levy County
The complainant received an in-home demonstration of a
Tri-Star vacuum, which included demonstration of the accessories and warranty,
and financing information. With the complainant’s permission, the demonstration
and transaction were recorded; audio and visual. Subsequently, the complainant
entered into a contract for the purchase price of $2816.24, which was financed
through Aqua Finance Inc. FBO Connexus Credit Services, with monthly payments
of approximately $70 p/month, of which approximately $40 p/month was towards
the interest.
Approximately 10 months after the sale, the complainant
filed a case with the Levy Office against Environmental Home Protection, Inc.,
alleging that the company forced her to buy the vacuum and the salesmen would
not leave the home.
The company was notified of the complaint and forwarded
copies of the signed sales documents and a CD of the video recording of the sales
transaction to the Levy Office for review.
Several times during the recording and prior to the contract being
signed, the complainant was asked if she was dissatisfied with the product, the
salesmanship, or the financing, to which she replied ‘No” each time. The
complainant raved about the product and appeared not to be under any duress,
nor did there appear to be any high pressure sales tactics used during the
transaction.
The complainant was contacted by the Levy staff and
advised of the findings, at which time the complainant agreed that she did like
the vacuum, but the payments were no longer in her
budget. It appears that this may have been a case of buyer’s remorse,
and there was no recovery to be mad
Plumbing Contractor
Escambia Office- Escambia County
An elderly client came into complain that a plumber charged her $600
for a fairly minor job that took about 2 hours. After reviewing photos of the
work that was performed we contacted the plumber and negotiated a reimbursement
of $300 for the client. She was very happy and has recently contacted us for
assistance in another matter.
Boat Lift
Escambia Office-Escambia County
A client living in South Florida complained that after ordering a boat
lift from a Northwest Florida company, he had not received all the necessary
parts. In addition, he was told by the company that they would send someone to
help complete the installation. After six months of back and forth between the
company and the client, and much animosity between the parties, a complaint was
filed with AGs office. After much communication with the company and the client
we oversaw the return of the parts that had been shipped and secured a full
refund for the client.
Consignment Shop Problem
Escambia Office – Escambia County
Client placed her furniture with a consignment shop. The client checked
with the shop frequently and was told that the furniture had not sold. After
being told this for several months she went to the shop and noted that her
furniture was not there any longer. She inquired and was told that the
furniture had indeed been sold, she however had not received payment. In her
complaint she indicated that the consignment shop owner had kept promising to
pay. The client felt that she was getting the run around and need help in dealing
with this. When our volunteer was finally able to contact the shop’s owner and
discuss the situation, our client received a full payment within several days.
Concrete Contractor
Tallahassee Office-Leon County
We received three cases within a month of each other all
involving the same concrete contractor. He would go around to various
neighborhoods and solicit to repair driveways. His pitch was that he would be
doing work in the neighborhood so he could give people a big discount if
several went in together for the cost of concrete and labor. He would tell
people he had to have the money up front to be able to do a group rate. After
receiving the monies, sometimes as much as $10,000 he would do no work or start
to tear up existing driveway and then leave. When the customers would complain
he would threaten them to the point that one couple put their home up for sale
and moved from Tallahassee. After hearing this we got the police involved.
After their investigation and the story appearing on two local news stations,
another 19 people came forward with the same circumstances. The man was
arrested and charged with the intent to defraud and the threats of bodily harm.
Impounded Car
Tallahassee Office- Leon County
A gentleman came to us for help to get his car out of police impound.
He has a home here and in Dallas, TX. He lives here most of the time and was
here when he received a call from the Dallas Police that someone had broken
into his garage and tried to steal his car (a Jaguar that belonged to his late
wife). The police were able to stop the theft, but the garage door was broken
and they could not leave the car there so they took it to impound. The problem
was he had no insurance for the car and could not get it out of impound without
proof of insurance and the car was also registered in his late wife’s name. We
had to help him get a copy of the death certificate and then help with
contacting the insurance and Dallas police impound to explain what was going
on, He was able to get to Dallas after about a month to get his car out of
impound. He came to us overwhelmed and needing someone to help him navigate all
the steps in order to get his late wife’s car back as it has great sentimental
value to him.
Appliance Store
Tallahassee Office-Leon County
An individual acting on behalf of her elderly mother came to us for
help with a problem with an appliance purchase from a major appliance store.
Her mother purchased a new stove and microwave combination to be delivered and
installed in her home. The microwave was not delivered or installed and when
her mother questioned the installers they were very rude to her and said it
would come later. Her mother felt intimidated by the situation. The daughter
got involved and after numerous calls was told there was a problem with the
order number and never could get the microwave delivered or a credit issued.
She came to us asking for help when she could not get any satisfaction from the
store. After several calls we were able
to have a credit issued in the amount of $286 for the microwave.
Fine Furniture Problem
Crestview Office- Okaloosa County
In March a client came in with a complaint against a Furniture store in Panama City. She and her husband had purchased a new sectional couch with two end piece recliners. There were workmanship flaws with the couch and the recliners: one recliner actually having a bent frame. Attempts by our client fell on deaf ears. We contacted the manager of the furniture store and he responded that our clients wouldn’t let him go to their house to examine the damage. When contacted, our client refuted that, stating on numerous occasions, she had requested that someone come to the house to do such an examination and they refused to do so. When confronted with our client’s response, the manager stated that he had done all that he could do and was done with the matter. We contacted the legal department at the corporate headquarters and asked for their assistance in resolving this matter. Twelve days after our letter to corporate headquarters, our client received a phone call from the furniture store stating that they would be replacing all of her furniture within the next 3 weeks. In April, our client called to inform us the store had delivered her replacement furniture, amounting to a realized gain of around $2,000.
Hearing Aid Problem
Crestview Office – Okaloosa County
Our client came to the office in April with a complaint against a
Hearing Center. She stated that she purchased a set of hearing aids from them
for $3,514 with financing through a credit company. When she received the
hearing aids in February, they did not fit properly. She returned them to the
hearing center with the assurance that they would re-order a better fitting
set. From that time on she had not heard from them nor was she able to contact
them. She came to us for assistance and when we researched the company, we
discovered that all offices in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi were no longer
in business. We advised our client to consider looking for replacements in the
local market. She did that and when she explained to the new hearing aid center
what happened, they provided her with new hearing aids free. The realized gain
was $3514.
Bullet Supplier
Crestview Office- Okaloosa Office
This case is significant because this is not the first time that we
have had a complaint against this company in Panama City. In a prior case, the
vendor was very helpful and pleasant to deal with; resulting in an agreeable
resolution to both parties. In this case, as before, we found the vendor to be
accommodating but overwhelmed by circumstances, leading us to believe that he
is not deliberately scamming anyone: just getting in over his head and finding
it difficult to fulfill orders that he has taken. Our client had a small order
for about $150 worth of bullets, but was unable to get them after multiple
promises by the vendor that he would shortly have them. When contacted by us,
the vendor had several reasons why he had not delivered them yet. He promised
to deliver them immediately. The vendor then sent the package out, even sharing
the tracking number with us. Somehow the order was sent to the wrong address.
When we identified that error to the vendor, he agreed to just simply reimburse
our client for the amount he had already paid and on the 29th of
December our client received his $150 back.
Warranty
Navarre Office – Santa Rosa County
Client came to us in July as a result of referral from the AG’s office.
The clients were contacted by their tenants in June that the house would not
cool below 85 degrees even though air conditioner was set for 72. Client
contacted Warranty company requesting service. Clients paid their deductible
and service tech came a day later. Within 30 minutes the tech had left the
tenants house due to power outage in neighborhood, but we were told that we
could call for diagnostic. We were told
after calling company that there was nothing wrong. House was still at 85
degrees so client called Warranty company asking for a second opinion. He was
told if new tech said the same thing they would be
responsible for another $125 deductible. Two days’ later house was a 92
degrees. Second company’s tech stated that the condenser was in rough shape.
Called Warranty company back, they sent original
tech and he left an invoice stating “recommended that the condenser be replaced
as it was in bad shape”. The client signed and received a copy of the invoice.
Upon calling Warranty company 4 days later was told Air Conditioner company
would contact them. 6 days’ later client still had not heard from air
conditioner company so he contacted Warranty company again. They claimed they
had not received the report yet to authorize service. For the next month
numerous calls were exchanged between client, home warranty co. and air
conditioner company, with no results. Seniors vs Crime got involved in August
and spent the next month discussing the situation with the Warranty company and
as a result of dedicated volunteer work were finally able to get the clients a
check at the end of Sept. for $3,950 for the replacement of the air
conditioner.
Trucking Company
Navarre Office – Santa Rosa County
Client came to us in April with a complaint against a trucking company
for damage to his household goods, driveway and lawn. In January the client’s
goods were moved from a warehouse in Georgia to his new residence in Florida.
The containers were delivered to his house in the rain and unloaded with
equipment that was not well equipped to handle them under the conditions
resulting in jarring and bouncing of the containers on the ground and the
tearing up his lawn and sprinkler system. The client took pictures of the
damage and proceeded to file a claim for damages. Included with the claim forms
were estimates for repairs from several companies. Our client also had to pay
the sanitation company to dispose of the items that could not be salvaged. The
trucking company claimed that since our client self-packed and did not take out
additional insurance that he would only be eligible for $0.10 per/lb. for a
total of $750. The trucking company said they would also pay for the sanitation
bill of $125. Our client said this was unacceptable and contacted Seniors Vs
Crime. After our volunteers spent an additional 3 months of back and forth
communication with the trucking company and the client, both parties agreed on
a final settlement of $4,969. The client received a check for $4969 at the end
of July 2015.
Condo Rental Company
Navarre Office – Santa Rosa County
Client came to us in mid-November 2014. She had booked a non-pet friendly condo due to her allergies in September 2014. When she and her family arrived the condo smelled of cat urine and the master bedroom carpet was filthy. She immediately placed calls (12) to the rental company and spent the day looking at other places before moving into a new unit. After two nights in this unit they were told that the owner was there and they would have to vacate or be removed by the police. They were moved to a third unit. She spoke to the owner of the rental company several times about the inconvenience of the moves. She was told that she would receive some sort of refund. After not being able to get in touch with them after numerous calls she filed a complaint with the AG’s office, who forwarded it on to us. Our volunteer contacted the owners of the condo rental company and finally received a return call the end of Dec. 2014. Contacted the client in January and was told they still had not received a refund. It took our volunteer two more months of back and forth email communication to finally getting the client a refund of $250.00, which she received in February 2015.