With all the vitriol that is directed towards the Los Angeles law enforcement community, I would like to describe a very positive experience that I encountered.
I live in the Las Flores Canyon area and was considering installing electric gate motors on my entry gates. A local worker who was known around the neighborhood, happened to meet two iron workers while hitch-hiking up the hill. Knowing that I might consider hiring them to do my gate motors, he brought them by to meet me. They came in a truck with a welding machine on the back and a logo on the door panel. They gave me a quick bid which was very low, but when I described in fuller detail what I needed I was told that they would need to consult their catalogue at the office before giving me a firm bid.
The next day they called back with a bid of $3,000, a very reasonable bid, and if I would have been thinking, too reasonable. I told them I would like to go forward and they came out the next day with a contract on company stationary and my wife gave them a deposit of $1,500 to begin. This was on a Saturday, and they told me they would begin work the following Wednesday.
On Tuesday they called to tell me the motors had not come in and they would be delayed to Friday. That was the last I heard from them. I tried calling the numbers on the invoice, only to find them disconnected, and despite leaving messages on the pager number that I had been given, I got no response. I called information to try and track down the company but could find nothing listed.
I honestly thought that the money was gone and had little hope that the police would give such a small matter much attention. I was totally wrong!
My only lead was the check that had been written to them in the company’s name. My bank supplied me a copy of the check and I took it to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station to file a fraud complaint. The officer at the station told me that they would send someone to my home to take the report. A few hours later, a female deputy arrived and took the report. She told me someone would contact me in a few days.
Two days later, a Detective Stindler called and told me he had traced the company’s address through the bank records, and had gone to the location and confronted the owner regarding the situation. He told me that they would be dropping a check by my home the next day. Still skeptical, I was surprised when the man who had given me the bid came by in the early evening with a check from the company making me whole. Unfortunately, the check never cleared the bank. A valid phone number was on the check and I called the company, getting assurances that the check would clear the next day. Ten days later it still had not cleared.
I called Detective Stindler to update him on the situation. He told me that it was ridiculous that I should have to keep calling the bank to see if the check would clear and that he would contact the company again and insist on them delivering a cash refund. A week later the worker showed up with the cash.
I can’t say enough to express how appreciative I was of the work done by all involved in the Sheriff’s Department and the courtesy that I was afforded in dealing with this matter.
Howard Ziehm