Q: I've been scammed on facebook market what should I do?
A person sold me a terrible car claiming it drives good and was a good a to b car, on the way home the car started overheating and stopped and smoked in the middle of the highway, I called and texted him and he blocked me, later that night I went on facebook and seen that he knew the car engine was broken and was bragging about selling the car to me, I then went to the police the next day and they told me I had to sue him, I then went to the court to try and do that I put in the address where he sold me the car, and the women said I woulddnt hear from the til next year, and that got me upset because I literally got the proof, the phone number, the full name, etc of this person and I have to wait till next year to deal with it, what if he moves or anything like that, what am I gonna do, the car is sitting far away from my house and I cant drive it no where, is there anything I can do or can I get this guy arrested for intentionally putting my life in danger, and for scamming me??
A: I would need to know more detail about the car and your agreement when you bought the car. You cannot get the guy arrested based on the facts you present. The woman you spoke to at the house doesn’t dictate whether you can sue. You don’t need to wait a year. Again, I would need more details before I could give you a better answer on what’s available civilly.
A: I think you misunderstand what the civil process entails. If you file a civil action the actual date may be a little delayed. Contact an attorney.
A:
Sorry to hear that you were victimized by this SB. You should check out what the monetary max is for a small claims court in NY. If that amount covers what you paid for the car, you should go there for the fastest trip to court. Once you file a lawsuit the court gets jurisdiction over the defendant when you serve (deliver in a legally qualified way) the summons and complaint on the defendant. Once you have that it does not matter if he moves. Your trial date may be months later. But this does not really address the reality of your situation. Unless this guy owns real property, and even then, he may be "judgment proof" because a judgment is just a piece of paper saying he owes you. You have to collect from him. This guy does not sound like the Ford Motor Company that would pay you. He isn't going to pay you on your judgment and you have to squeeze every cent out of him. I am sorry to say that this is a lesson to you to avoid this kind of a transaction over a car and to have your independent mechanic check out any car you are going to buy. If you had bought from a dealer you would have paid more but you would be protected from just throwing ALL your money away. I would be very surprised if you were able to recover 10% of your money. This is why people like credit cards, you can file a dispute with the CC company and reverse the transaction, the bank has that kind of power with the merchants. You dealt with a phantom, and he stole your money, in a way that makes him avoid arrest. The police are not going to help you on this one, they will call it a CIVIL dispute. So very sorry.
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