A Company Owes Me A Refund For Being Unable To Provide The Service

Damaged Goods

Member
Location
Maryland
I paid up front in full via paper check and the co. deposited it. Company agrees to the refund

This is the company's advice:
Please email me a blank check marked “VOID” and I will wire the funds to your account.

This is new ground for me and I'd appreciate any comments.
 

Tell them you want a check mailed directly to you. They already know your account number as you already paid them by check.
 

The only bills I pay with checks are utility & car payments. Everything else is paid by credit card. That way, if a company tries to rip me off, all I have to do is call the CC company & dispute the charge. And, unlike a check, there is no time limit.
 
The co. is legit but this employee -- the owner's spoiled daughter -- is a piece of work. In the past, because her files were so disorganized and missing the original of a service contract, she had me running all over town to get my copy of the contract photocopied and mailed to her to prove my assertions about said contract.

Also, how is a blank check, or any image, sent electronically without a scanner? I have only a desktop and printer.
 
Never heard of his requirement unless I am opening a bank account with a bank other than the one that has my checking account. Keep every piece of communication until you get your money in your hands.
 
Never heard of his requirement unless I am opening a bank account with a bank other than the one that has my checking account. Keep every piece of communication until you get your money in your hands.
And if I can add: with that in mind, don't communicate with the individuals over the phone- always use written communication such as email so you'll have a record of what was said.
 
I paid up front in full via paper check and the co. deposited it. Company agrees to the refund

This is the company's advice:
Please email me a blank check marked “VOID” and I will wire the funds to your account.

This is new ground for me and I'd appreciate any comments.

Sounds fishy! Get a copy of the check they deposited and show that check to them.
 
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I wouldn't trust them. They already have your account number, why should you send them another check? Sounds extremely fishy.
 
Sounds fishy! Get a copy of the check they deposited and show them that.

She as much as admitted in email form that I'm due a refund when she said that she sent a check on a certain date. She added that she has no control over how long it takes to get to my mailbox. I thought that this was an unusual and unnecessary comment.

A week after the date that the check was allegedly sent by her, I advised by email that the check was not received and to send another one. No response.

Nine days later (yesterday), I reached out again and she immediately suggested what is written in the OP.

This morning I wrote that I do not have the electronic capability to do what she suggested and to send the refund again via USPS. Waiting for a response but not holding my breath.
 
Let me veer off track slightly. Our Better Business Bureau's policy during this COVID-19 mess is to not get involved with complaints pertaining to shoddy service or the other things that they usually handle.

My fear is that they also excuse companies from having to refund payments! o_O In other words, you pay up front for something as I did and the company alleges that the virus prevented them from producing the product or performing the service, BBB's policy says that the co. can keep your pmt!

If so, I wonder if the Consumer Protection Division in the State atty. general's office would agree.

What are your BBB's policies during this COVID-19 mess?
 
Not sure what my bank can do. They're not in the business of securing refunds. My $395 drawn on my bank was deposited in her bank in early May.

It could be that she really did refund via paper check and because I never received it, she doesn't want to pay a "stop payment" fee on that check.
 
Damaged Goods, ( That's a cool name) Is this a local company? You know that the employee is the owner's daughter? If this is a local company, can you by pass the Post Office, and go down to the office. Having a warm body in front of her might get her butt moving. Plus, there is no reason a company can't issue a paper check to you. They don't need your bank account number to do that.
 
Is it a local company? Can you demand to talk to the manager or CEO or whatever? Do you have a way to just go down there -- making an appointment first so you don't get the he/she's out runaround.

I would call the consumer protection division you mentioned earlier and see what they advise. The BBB is toothless and can't really do anything much to force them to make it right.
 

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