what would you do?

indianabuckman · Jul 14, 2016

A friend went to a auction the other day and brought a use refrigerator that the auctioneer said work. He gets it home and it doesn't work so he stop the check. Now they are threating to go to the prosecutor if he did not pay within the next day. would you pay the $130.00. What would you do? He email them and told them they could come and get it.

Greg1959 · Jul 14, 2016

Caveat emptor

1948CaseVAI · Jul 14, 2016

You can foul up the works of a refrigerator by handling/hauling it wrong. I sympathize with your buddy but I do not see how he can ever prove it did not work when he bought it. The auctioneer will simply claim it died in transit. I would pay and chalk it up to the price of the learning.

Determined · Jul 14, 2016

Your friend took an auctioneers word?

When he registered I am guessing somewhere on the card he signed it said;

-Everything sold as is
or
Buyer responsible for determining condition and suitability of merchandise before bidding.

Did your friend lay the fridge down on it's back for the truck ride home then stand it up and plug it in right away?

indianabuckman · Jul 14, 2016

No he stood it up in a trailer up against the tailgate

Traditional Farmer · Jul 14, 2016

At some auctions I go to equipment is given a "Ride and Drive" in other words its supposed to be mechanically sound and if it isn't you don't have to pay for it,with an appliance its
harder to test right away but the auctioneer said it worked and it didn't so he should have to stand behind it.I'd bet the auctioneer will never take your friend to court because of the bad publicity.And you can't criminally prosecute a stopped payment as a bad check most of the time its a civil matter.Personally I'd take my chances before a judge if it came down to it.

Bob Harvey · Jul 14, 2016

Yer pal trusted, good idea, BUT, he didn't have - or didn't take the opportunity to test it. Tell him to suck it up. A 'Deal' often isn't.

Bob Harvey · Jul 14, 2016

To save Face , he could always turn it into a smoker.

Dblair · Jul 14, 2016

it's your friends credit line . how many points can he afford it to go down .

marloweg · Jul 14, 2016

you should never plug it in right after you move it wait 24 hrs. first

MarkB_MI · Jul 15, 2016

Stopping payment on a check is a bad idea in most states. Unless he has something in writing that guarantees the fridge to work, he'd better pay up.

Traditional Farmer · Jul 15, 2016

Your friend might also get in touch with what ever agency licenses autioneers in your state,I filed a complaint once about an auctioneer's conduct and dealings at an auction I went to one time and after they investigated his license was suspended for 6 months.Auctioneers get away with crooked stuff because no one is willing to report and follow thru about them.Most of the auctioneers I know would refund your friend's money and take it out of the sellers money because the seller apparently told the auctioneer the fridge worked for him to say so when he sold it.

John T · Jul 15, 2016

As an attorney I DO NOT normally (as always, subject to the exact situation) advise clients to stop payment on a check, but if they believe they have been lied to or cheated or warranty issues exist, pursue that as a civil matter and GOOD LUCK WITH THAT when you bought something at an auction regardless what the auctioneer said, and for $130, its NOT going to be economically feasible anyway. It's no case Id take on a contingency or take at all as I hate to work and charge clients good money towards a likely loosing case, I just don't do that. It wouldn't hurt to report it to the local prosecutor and any licensing agency or BBB and anyone else he can find to listen. I used to make a living buying and selling at auctions and operated under the theory anything I bought probably DID NOT WORK OR WAS AS I WAS TOLD so I paid accordingly and came out ahead in the long run as many things actually DID WORK LOL. Chalk it up to what Dave Ramsey calls STUPID TAX Ive sure paid plenty in my time but as I get older n wiser I pay less.

John T BSEE, JD Country Lawyer

Mike M · Jul 15, 2016

Our family over the years have had a few appliances that worked and then once shut down and or moved died on us. So it does happen that fast. Hard to prove it work before you bought it unless it was plugged in and running at the auction.

BarnyardEngineering · Jul 15, 2016

The auctioneer may have said it worked, but your buddy still bought it AS-IS, WHERE-IS, period.

No auctioneer is going to warranty anything they sell.

Your friend doesn't have a leg to stand on. He should pay up and deal.

Dick2 · Jul 15, 2016

What is the "Stop Payment" fee at his bank? It is $30 at our bank, so the price that he paid for the fridge is now $160. If he keeps going, he'll have a $400 fridge that still doesn't work. He would be better off to send the fridge to the landfill, say nothing and keep his good will with the community. And he should be thankful that his lesson only cost him $130! There aren't many FREE lessons in life and he got by cheap. Gotta pay for what you don't know.

oldtanker · Jul 15, 2016

(quoted from post at 05:10:59 07/15/16) What is the "Stop Payment" fee at his bank? It is $30 at our bank, so the price that he paid for the fridge is now $160. If he keeps going, he'll have a $400 fridge that still doesn't work. He would be better off to send the fridge to the landfill, say nothing and keep his good will with the community. And he should be thankful that his lesson only cost him $130! There aren't many FREE lessons in life and he got by cheap. Gotta pay for what you don't know.

Well said!

Rick

dhermesc · Jul 15, 2016

Agreed. If he wanted a warranty he should have bought it from a store. All he's done is made a name for himself that I wouldn't want.

rrlund · Jul 15, 2016

I had a similar thing happen with a washing machine. I knew the guy who had the sale,my cousin was one of his best friends and he was at the sale. I bought the washer,a few minutes later my cousin walked up and said "All it needs is..... I think if you.....". Wait a minute,it doesn't work? "Well no,but I think you can just...".

What could I do? I paid for it and took it home. It was junk,but I bought it at an auction.

Suck it up and learn from it. Everything at an auction is "as is where is",even if you know the owner.

Brent Zappe · Jul 15, 2016

I really do not buy stuff like that at an auction nor a garage sale. In this case what did the auction guarantee did the bill of sale state that it worked? Is it written on papper that it worked? these statements written and signed on a bill of sale can be used in court. If I had bought some thing like this and it was 130.00 dollars I would be stuck paying for it. That is alot cheaper than going to court and be stuck paying more money. Only the agreement between the seller and a sign statement can get you from haveing to pay for a bad appliance have him check his bill of sale. Most auctions I go to will state what gurantees and terms of sale. You can find it printed on the bill of sale to.

DoubleR · Jul 15, 2016

As is and where it is. That's what I always was told. I learned the hard way a few years back. It cost me about 300 bucks but had no one the blame but myself. Lesson learned.

Goose · Jul 15, 2016

I agree. A couple of years ago, I paid $40 for a nice looking floor jack that didn't work after I got it home. It's going on the next pile of old iron I haul.

Unless there is writing somewhere that the refrigerator works, you bought it, it's yours. The cheapest way out is to man up, pay for it, and write it off to experience.

db4600 · Jul 15, 2016

touche

Ken Macfarlane · Jul 15, 2016

There is a guy on garage journal who has helped a ton of people diagnose and repair busted floor jacks. The seals or check balls are usually only a few $.

W_B · Jul 15, 2016

After getting burned a few times I don't buy electronics or appliances at any auction where I can't try then out, unless they are really dirt cheap. I did get lucky buying a box of computer equipment at an on-line auction (wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, some cables and a terrabyte external drive. They all worked. I did notice in the pictures that everything was all wrapped up nicely and instruction/set up manuals were with them so I was confident the owner put them away carefully, maybe intending to use them again someday.

chuck2015 · Jul 15, 2016

I would chalk it up to lessons learned and move on. Stuff like this can be considered baggage in ones life and too much of it is not good. I have seen this happen to people where they cn no longer move forward.

JOCCO · Jul 15, 2016

My thoughts the auction company will not want to go to court for $130 THEY WILL BAR HIM FROM ANY FUTER AUCTIONS!!! THEY PROBABLY WILL SETTLE SOMETHING WITH THE ESTATE. highly unlikely but possible they will (or estate owner) will come get it. We had a bunch a while back bid stuff up and not pay (just like evil bay) was not to much auctioneer could do. he sold a few items to the interested bidders after the sale!!! Yes he banned them from his auctions. Your state laws will differ and govern most of this.

Dune Country · Jul 15, 2016

Any time a fridge is moved or jostled you need to lay it on one side for 10 min, top for 10 min, other side for 10 min then upright for 24 hr's before plugging it in.

Old Scovy · Jul 15, 2016

I would bet the Auctioneer said " They tell me it works" " Or they say it runs but just get right in here and help your self as I don't know a thing about it."Never saying it does work.

Janicholson · Jul 15, 2016

I bought a freezer for 150. it was a gasketed box, and never got cold. I took the seller to small claims court for the 150. He lost and paid court costs as well. (back in 1974) the judge si=aid to the defendant"did you sell a Freezer. the mans said yes. did it freeze? (to me) No, it had broken coolant lines. It seems to me that you sold him a box, not a freezer. Pay the defendant and costs Bang. Jim

jimg.allentown · Jul 15, 2016

Auctioneers are notorious LIARS. I go to quite a few auctions. I listen to what the auctioneer says between his babbling. The say some really stupid things. Mostly it is a psychological game they play to increase their revenues.
HOWEVER, if the refrigerator was represented as a working unit, and was bid accordingly, I would say that there is a responsibility to the buyer for it to be properly represented.

ss55 · Jul 15, 2016

$130 isn't all that much now-a-days, and appliances are pretty much disposable now too. Other than for the principal of the deal, it really isn't worth wasting your time and the auctioneers time to fight about it for several weeks. $1300 yes, $130 no. As the school of hard knocks goes, that is still a fairly inexpensive lesson. See if you can get it to work.

wisbaker · Jul 16, 2016

could of shpud of paid with a credit card and protested it

what would you do?

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