COD'ers stopping their checks after transcript pick up

[Debbie Landi]

Has anyone has the situation arise where you have COD'd someone because they are well known in the community not to pay and have the stop their check after they've been to your office to pick up the transcripts?

Has anyone filed a police complaint for larceny and had success this route? Or have you tried another route?

[Quyen]

That really blows.

It's a PITA, but small claims is the way to go. It will teach him a lesson.

Create a paper trail. E-mail him, tell him you will report his unethical behavior to the bar and the BBB if he does not make good on his payment. In the e-mail, be sure to tell the whole "story," indicate that he physically came into your office to pick up the transcript if you've got no other proof of delivery, and that he stopped payment on your check. Give him a few days to respond, then follow up if you hear nothing, with yet another e-mail. Give him a couple days. Then call him, hopefully from a cell phone, where you can note the date, time and the phone number you called him at. You could forward your call log of the call made to him to your e-mail so you have documentation of that as well, or you could use your phone bill. It will cost him more money if you have to take him to small claims. You could ask to be compensated for you time in court, the cost of filing, etc. You will most likely win judgment against him, in which case, you could put a lien on the account of the check he gave you that he stopped payment on ... or a property lien, etc. :)

Good luck!

[Debbie Landi]

Honestly, out of 30 years in biz I have only had one attorney write me a check on a closed account when I sent it COD. This guy took one month to order the copy of the transcript (he was opposing counsel, NOT our client) because he knew he'd be COD.

To come to our office with a check, and then stop it is more than offensive. It's downright unethical and I will report him to our State Bar. His claim is we would NOT email him his transcript in advance of the check, which is exactly the reason we waited for his check.

Unfortunately with credit cards, the client can always request a charge back....I have learned a lesson that sometimes with unscrupulous counsel, it's cash, cash only and cash all the time.

[Glen Warner]

Debbie --

Wow, that sucks ...!

I think, when someone is put on COD status, checks are simply not accepted -- precisely for that "stop payment" stuff.

You're going to have to take the guy to court, unfortunately. Hopefully you have him ordering the transcript on audiosync or something; if not, any e-mails that you can print out and (most important) the star of your case, that check!

Also, if the bank gave you anything in writing that said the check had a stop payment issued on it -- preferably something that specified the time -- that would be a great help to you also.

It would also help if you could print out (or copy, if applicable) the appropriate bit of legalese that basically says that if an attorney contracts with a reporter to produce a transcript, then the attorney is legally bound to pay for said transcript (or whatever your state laws say on the matter).

Sorry I don't have better advice (especially since that first bit probably read like a tongue-wagging lecture), but there's not a lot you can do besides drag his happy A*SZ to small claims court.

Keep us posted!

--gdw
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