Looks like I got taken by Army recruiter

BrettT1

My brother-in-law has been doing some remodeling for an Army SSG lately and told me he had a used fridge for sale. I went over and tried to talk him down from 250 to 200 with no luck. I payed the 250, we loaded it up (standing upright), I took it home and plugged it in. 24 hours later I went to check on it and it doesn't work... won't get below 70 degrees.

I called the guy and explained the situation. First he said he didn't have the money, then said he'd give it back when he got paid. Later, he had his wife call and told me basically I was screwed.

It didn't work for 1 day.

Would it do any good to contact his commander? Or am I just beat out of the 250.

Pfft. It doesn't take that much of a man to do the right thing.

sucks2beme

He's a recruiter. He's in the business of **** people over.
Good luck. I've known too many guys just like him.

NotaSuv

Fill the fridge up with lots of raw fish and meat....duct tape shut.....bring back and leave on front porch about 4 days later........

Hawkeye

I hate to see anybody get ripped off. OK, the guy is in the Army, does that matter? If he worked for **** company, would you call his boss there? I'm not defending him, what he did is not acceptable. If your out the 250, drop it off in his front yard or his recruiting office.

Gordon

Ricardo

hawkeye wrote: »

if he worked for **** company, would you call his boss there?

+1,000

BrettT1

Hawkeye wrote: »

If he worked for **** company, would you call his boss there?
Gordon

It beats going to jail for kicking his ****. I don't know what other recourse I would have. I know there are scumbags everywhere, but my family's tax dollars pay his salary.

I'm probably just beat out of the $ anyway.

John30_30

If you have a friend that knows something about them, it might be something fixable. Thermostat not kicking on, low on coolant, that sort of thing.

George Grand

If he bounced a check off you, he'd be hung by the yardarm by his commander. Your situation? You've got nothing. I wouldn't stop that from asking him for his commander's name and rank, or a subtle hint that you already know his commander's name, rank, and telephone number. If this douchebag has got a couple strikes against him already, he may not want his commander to know about any more.

Hawkeye

The yardarm George? I thought that was just for us squids. Shouldn't the Army use a howitzer or something?

Gordon

MikeC78

George is correct. You got the fridge, there is really nothing his chain of command can do about it. I'd do as George advised...

cwhyte

Unfortunately, I'd say you are SOL, unless you received a written warranty, its sold as-is. I'm not blaming you, but I would have verified cold contents before unplugging it and paying for it. That's the way it is sometimes when dealing with people you don't know. Bad break. You might threaten him to go to his CO, but I would not actually do it. Just my 2 cents.

Deadof_knight

Do what Nota suv said Thats a wonderful idea !!!! paybacks a ****!

shack

You are probably out of luck. Used stuff that you pick up is almost always "AS IS". I doubt there is anything his CO or even a small claims court can do for you. Anything more than threatening to call his CO will cause YOU more grief than him.

As some have said, it may be something simple that a good repair shop can fix. If not I would at least make sure to drop if off in his front yard with "scumbag" spray-painted in bright red for the world to know. More than likely this is an expensive lesson...because you won't get your money back.

George Grand

If the guy lives on base, and you can get LEGAL access, Shack is onto something.

If you could get that on his front lawn and let it sit there all day for everybody to see, INCLUDING the housing area cleanliness patrol guys and the SP's or MP's, that could put his name in lights and on people's scopes. Might not get your money back but it'll get his **** reamed. Spray "Deadbeat" on it if you want but don't give them anything more than that. If they perceive anything as profane you may not get out the gate. Don't spray it until you're IN the gate. Even if you don't spray anything on it, I know that on any airbase, having a frig or car croaking on your front lawn is not good.

BrettT1

Thanks for the replies, guys. I know I'm pretty much just beat out of the $. I hope the SOB chokes on it. Damn, it's hard to trust ANYONE these days.

Welp, the world is round, mf.

Brett

ben62670

Go to your local hunting shop and purchase some nice stinky stuff like fox urine, doe in heat, skunk... There is all kinds of fun stuff there. If you can get it into his interior of his car without breaking in cool. If not I have found the vents in the hood can be fun too:)
Ben

candyliquor35m

Let your brother in law decide what to do. If he got some money up front then he can walk off the job until you get your money back.

danger boy

I say go dump it off on his front lawn.. or where ever you picked it up from. but first fill it up with concrete.. once that sets up.. that sucker is going to be really heavy. ha ha ha.

danger boy

or you could load it up into the back of your truck.. write in big bright numbers his phone number or house address and say you got ripped off by this dude.. name him. it's not one bit illegal to put the pressure on him.

or you could dump the fridge in a very public place with the same info on it.. trust me the police will be calling his **** up. ha haha. i'm all about public humiliation of **** hats.

TroyD

If he is a recruiter, his commander is probably a long ways away. Recruiting commands are set up by regions and districts and unlikely that he is all that close.

Two, you don't really have any legal recourse via the military. While what he did was certainly slimy, it isn't exactly illegal.

I'm sure as a recruiter, he probably knows this so I doubt that a threat to call his commander is going to accomplish much at all.

BDT

candyliquor35m

ask your brother in law if he can install a toilet where the kitchen sink used to be and you'll probably get your money back.

danger boy

get about 20 lbs of rotting fish carcases and put them under his house.. it'll smell to high heaven and he won't know where it's coming from for a while. ha ha ha.

wizzy

There's always the chance it was working great when he sold it to you and something in the move broke it.

W

gdb

My advice is to compose an ad to run in a local newspaper or weekly "pennysaver" or other free publication that reads; If you are thinking about signing with(a$$hole's name here) to join the US Army, Do yourself a favor and contact me first, I've got some things you'll want to hear.
Ph. **** 555 0000 (prepaid throwaway cell) After doing the composing, print up a copy of it as well as another version to post on trees and lightpoles. Next step is to alert this douchebag of your intention to inform anyone who'll listen, that his word is worthless and that he is a thief. He may not want you to proceed with your public service announcements and be inclined to refund your money.If the threat doesn't convince him that you're serious, start plastering all the trees/poles on the streets around his base or recruiting office with the fliers that you just got at Kinkos! Still no luck? Run the ad.If any or all of the publications decline to take your ad,hire a homeless person to wear a sandwich board showing your message,have them parade all over town,THEN it will be in the papers for free! (you've got to call em to tell them where your guy is going to be ) If all else fails, return the fridge with cheap chicken parts inside(nicely aged)door ajar, no spray paint,just a note explaining how his swindle caused your food to spoil,tape to the outside and leave. If you decide to figure out what's wrong with the fridge,try this site,I've had good luck keeping my decrepit stuff alive by using it.
Good luck ! gdb:)
http://fixitnow.com/

danger boy

wizzy wrote: »

There's always the chance it was working great when he sold it to you and something in the move broke it.

W

that could well have happen of course.. but the part that sucks is how he is handling the whole situation.. the seller I mean. He's been a complete ****.. and hiding behind his wife to make his dirty calls. He's a spineless a-hole.

Hawkeye

I retired from the USN after 21 years. At the end, I was a Command Senior Chief and responsible for the health and welfare of 165 enlisted. I was the senior enlisted in the squadron and reported directly to the Commanding Officer.

Being stationed in Norfolk, VA., there were thousands of sailors, both young and old and some made poor choices. Outside of any military installation, there are companies that exist just to seperate a military person from their money. Why they would extend 6k in credit to an E1 is obvious. The reason is, they think, and in some cases, the chain of command becomes a collection agency for them when the E1 can't pay back his 6k. Due to the business community thinking/knowing this, we set up filters so an average person/company could not get direct contact with the CO.

Our line of questions to a business calling for payment would be:
Do you have a signed contract with John Doe?
Of course they do and need some help getting paid.
Do you have a signed contract with the USN?
No, we just need help getting paid.
Well, considering you have no binding contract with the USN, we are unable to assist you in obtaining payment.

I don't know how any other branch handles issues as these. We were/are not collection agencies. Don't hand me the we pay the salary crap through taxes. All military members pay the same taxes as everyone else unless in a combat zone. And believe me, I'd have rather paid the taxes.

While what happened is unfortunate, the chain of command does not exist to square up a deal on a used fridge.

Gordon

zombie boy 2000

When I worked collections in the Ft. Knox area, we obviously had a lot of military for customers. We also had a list handy for the chain of command. If someone was dodging us, we would call his CO. If that didn't yield results, we'd progressively move up the ladder. Trust me... the higher up you go, the less they wanted to be bothered.

Either way, we would almost always see a CO pulling in the dodger by the collar... standing behind him while he made good on his debt. Very, very effective means of collection.

shack

There are lots of suggestions of "revenge" going on here...but the more I think about it the more I would still just suggest that if it cannot be repaired for a reasonable amount of money, THE MOST I WOULD DO is return it to him with or without an "appropriate" message attached. Anything more is just asking for more agrivation on your part and a waste of time and effort.

Me...if it can't be fixed, I would drop it off at the dump and write it off to experience...but that's just me.

Hawkeye

zombie boy 2000 wrote: »

When I worked collections in the Ft. Knox area, we obviously had a lot of military for customers. We also had a list handy for the chain of command. If someone was dodging us, we would call his CO. If that didn't yield results, we'd progressively move up the ladder. Trust me... the higher up you go, the less they wanted to be bothered.

Either way, we would almost always see a CO pulling in the dodger by the collar... standing behind him while he made good on his debt. Very, very effective means of collection.

So, I assume then if a dead beat who worked at the local sub shop became delinquent, you called the owner of the sub shop?

zombie boy 2000

Actually... yeah. Not my favorite job in the world, but I had to pay the bills out of college.

Demiurge

I'd be mad too, but in the end, if he didn't give you your money back I would say you're S.O.L. It's a shame this guy is an untrustworthy twit, but calling his CO? You may as well call his mommy and cry to her then. Really, don't do that and certainly don't retaliate.

Rest easy knowing he'll get what's coming to him and you'll be paid back 10 fold in other ways.