Legal Advice - Woman who tried getting a restraining order on me and failed is now saying I'm violating a restraining order that doesn't exist and will send me back to court |
- Woman who tried getting a restraining order on me and failed is now saying I'm violating a restraining order that doesn't exist and will send me back to court
- Attorney missed filing deadline and blamed me for giving him too much information
- [Iowa] My school district is intentionally scheduling black students into separate classes from students of all other races for academic interventions
- Alcohol at reception for underage bride/groom
- Ex-Landlord won't stop contacting us about Apartments.com review
- (MO) Doctor told me to lie
- [Help] my dog needs surgery after injury from grooming shop
- (Missouri) Is this considered rape? And could I get him in jail?
- “Landlord” company sent ex’s debts to my collections 1.5 yrs after I moved out
- Citi Bank employee texting my personal phone
- UPS insurance Fraud part 2
- I was just randomly punched in the back of the head by some idiot teen with his friends. Is it worth reporting to police?
- How to have a second marriage based on shared funds while also ensuring adult children still receive a proper inheritance?
- Landlord turning off and locking breaker box to home
- Rabbit Rescue Resignation and Legal Ownership of Foster Bunnies?
- Can I legally challenge a foreign company that copied our design and patented it in their country?
- My (21F) parents want me to sign a medical power of attorney form???
- 7 years ago my father died and my step dad took all of his possessions and money
- Can someone lie about having injuries after a wreck and sue someone?
- Nightmare of an import shipment
- My single mother told me she is planning to sleep with a married man. Am I complicit? Can she get in trouble?
- My mom might get reported because she can't take care of her father.
- Landlord Locked Access to Circuit Panel (MA)
- Scalping
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:37 AM PST I'm Located in Massachusetts. This woman tried getting a restraining order put on me in 2019 claiming I was with a group of guys trying to kidnap her when I had proof I was working. I brought along a paycheck, the work schedule etc. Case was dismissed and now about 2 years later I got a random letter from her lawyer telling me to stop harassing' her as I violated a restraining order which I never got. Lawyer claims I'm supposed to show up in court this Monday but I can't due to self quarantine rules. My guardians and aunt were all present in the first court case and they know I got no restraining order. Can a lawyer demand I go to court? I got no letter from the court itself. [link] [comments] |
| Attorney missed filing deadline and blamed me for giving him too much information Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:11 AM PST Wisconsin. I just found out that my attorney never filed my financial Disclosures that were required by court order. I was working on everything Pro Se as the petitioner for months. My ex got an attorney who was uncooperative. I drained my life savings to hire this one. I live out of state so everything is via email and phone call. It also seems like he is having his staff waste my money and their time printing excessive amounts of emails. He said they have a mountain of paperwork and are unable to get threw all of my stuff even though I explained in detail what it was, what was needed and for them to just check if anything else was needed. My court date is in 2 weeks. His legal Assistant sounds like she is on drugs and might be fucking everything up because of it. He also said that my exs former public defender used to work there years ago but didnt think it would be an issue? I'm pissed, I'm broke and I need to know what steps i should take next. Edit 1: I wanted to add that when I last spoke with him after I told him what they were going to submit had a bunch of inaccuracies and wouldnt sign until it was fixed he said that he has other cases and because of how much information I gave him they couldnt go threw it all??? ( they fixed it and I signed off for submission before deadline) he said if I dont like it I can fire him, I was shocked and stayed quiet because I gave him all of my money then he laughed and said he was just kidding? If I fire him prior to the hearing will it affect a legal malpractice claim? Is there any way to fix it with the Family Court Commisioner? I have solid evidence against my ex. I just want to be done. Edit 2: I also looked up the legal Assistant who sounds high everytime I talk to her. She has criminal drug history involving opioids and perscription tranquilizers. Do I notify the attorney about my concerns? Edit 3: I am the mother of the minor child. I have an active restraining order against my ex for domestic abuse and child abuse for the max amount of time the Restraining orders end this year. My ex was in prision tight after I got the Restraining Orders. and when he got out he hid the fact that he got a good paying job for over year when before he just claimed he made minimum wage which also was lie apparently. My attorney said custody and placement shouldnt be an issue. The original strategy is now compromised because of the deadline issue. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 10:07 PM PST My school is implementing racially segregated academic interventions in a few days. Teachers and staff were told on this past Tuesday (1/5/21) about this plan that is going into effect Monday (1/11/21). Some context: We have a period of the day that we use for interventions (in an attempt to raise test scores), social-emotional learning lessons, and as a home room at times. This week they told us that the school district will be focusing on closing the gaps between the test scores of white and black students. Well, that's all well and good, but their solution to that was to put all of the black students in separate intervention classrooms from all other students. They're setting higher standards for black students so that more of them will have to receive interventions vs. students of any other race. The school district has not issued any public statements regarding this new initiative. It's one thing to choose to be in a group that is racially homogenous, but now the school is going to force kids to segregate for a class period. They claim it's to compensate for past experiences and fix our system. I got clarification from my administrator and found out there will be one "black only" assessment intervention group (based on test scores from 2019) in each grade level. If there are too many black students that need academic interventions in a grade level, those remaining students will be placed in a class that also has students of other races that are also receiving assessment interventions. I have thought about anonymously leaking the story to the media so that at least our students and families are aware of the decision, however I'm worried this can result in the loss of my job if they discovered my identity. One of our school district's policies is as follows: "With the approval of the building principal or the Director of School & Community Relations, District staff may initiate contact with the media to encourage coverage of positive school activities or events." Also, would I be protected if I reported this to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission? If I did that I would have to include my name on the report, which means the district would know who reported them. I am very nervous about the status of my job in coming out about this situation in some form. I am also nervous that reporting it to the Civil Rights Commission might be a very slow process, especially knowing this new schedule takes effect on Monday for students. My biggest questions: 1. How can I report my school district for a violation of civil rights while protecting my job security? 2. Who should I report it to, and should I consult a lawyer first? Are there any groups who I could report this to that can do their own report and investigation? 3. Is there some loophole in the law that makes this legal that I am not aware of? —— Note: I originally posted this in r/teachers for general advice, but now I am wanting to know what my legal options and protections might be coming forward with information. [link] [comments] |
| Alcohol at reception for underage bride/groom Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:04 AM PST Wedding in PA. Bride and groom both under 21 years old. Paying for their own wedding. The venue requires that the bar be open. The options are an open bar paid by bride and groom, or a cash bar. Since neither can legally purchase alcohol, is it legal to have an open bar? Do they need a parent (or any adult 21 or older) to step in and sign the contract and pay, or would that be a gray area since they'd be paying through the third party? I want to clarify that this is not about who consumes the alcohol. Obviously it is expected to be consumed by people legally old enough to do so. This is about whether or not it is legal for someone underage to pay for alcohol for someone of age. [link] [comments] |
| Ex-Landlord won't stop contacting us about Apartments.com review Posted: 10 Jan 2021 02:44 PM PST Location: Phoenix, AZ Our lease ended in July 2020 and my boyfriend and I have had a rough two years at this complex. The landlord ripped us off on the security deposit by ignoring the forms we signed in the beginning going over poorly done construction damage on the walls (Ex: cracked extruding paint). I wrote a 1 star review on Apartments.com and Google in September 2020 and now the landlord has been emailing my boyfriend for the past 2 weeks requesting that he take it down so he can sell the property. Is this legal to contact us like this and what can I tell him so he stops contacting us since I have no intention of taking my reviews down? Can he do anything to us about the reviews that I posted (I'm assuming no, since no personal information of his was shared but want to double check!) Thank you! This is what the review says if you're curious: Title: Renters please beware of The ##### and look else where! Review: Not only was this property cheaply built and lowly maintained throughout my lease here it's also located in a high crime area due to sitting in-between a shanty neighborhood and a facility for troubled youth. Throughout my stay here I've dealt with being assaulted and almost having my dog stolen and when security footage was needed the most, I had the unfortunate discovery that this property has no cameras on site despite having signs claiming 24 hour surveillance displayed. This is a major concern since the single washer and dryer for the entire 12 unit complex (that you have to pay exorbitantly inflated prices to use btw) is located outside of gated community. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 07:22 PM PST My doctor at the VA (veterans clinic) told me to lie in order to be admitted to the hospital for a med change. I was told to say i was suicidal. I was held for 4 days, given a load of new meds, and released home. My doctor has since taken me off all of those meds, refuses to fill them. Also has put me back on old meds that I dont feel are working for me. This caused me to have a manic episode and have dangerous/damaging behaviors including spending loads of money I don't have and fighting with family, my spouse having to miss loads of work. Not to mention the mental torment I went through trying to get straightened back out. I strongly feel this was all for nothing and the mental anguish was completely unnecessary, let alone the fact that I was thrown into an episode. It happens every time I'm admitted. I have the phone call recorded where I was told to lie and get admitted, my spouse said they did not feel that was the right thing to do but the doctor pushed back. I was very confused at the time and my doctor was aware. I blindly did as my doctor told me Only to have suffered the last month for it. My spouse has had to miss a ton of work to care for me. Other than find a new doctor, do I have any recourse? [link] [comments] |
| [Help] my dog needs surgery after injury from grooming shop Posted: 10 Jan 2021 05:07 PM PST LA, California - I took my dog in for a haircut at a privately-owned grooming shop yesterday and when I went to pick her up, the groomer tells me my dog tried to bite the nail grinder and lost a TOOTH. She explained that she took a close look at my dog's mouth and try to "move" things around (?) and that everything else seems fine. They gave me my dog to hold right away, so I didn't get a good look at her face then. When I took her home, I noticed that she was bleeding from her mouth and two of her bottom teeth were falling forward. I also saw that she already lost TWO teeth from this incident. I called the pet shop and asked to speak to the manager as this seems like a much worse situation than they explained. The owner asked me to come in the next day and have it looked at by a vet who comes every week for dental cleaning services. She reluctantly told me that she will pay for the medical bills as it started at their store (which I appreciate that she didn't try to be defensive about the issue). After seeing my dog, the vet told us that there is a tear in her gum that needs to be fixed surgically and the remaining two teeth will come out as they're already barely hanging in the gum. I already told the shop owner that I will be taking my dog to her own vet and get treatment there. My dog will have no teeth left on the bottom once the remaining 2 teeth fall out. I'm not trying to file a lawsuit nor do I want monetary compensation besides for the medical bills but I just want to know if the business owner should be responsible for paying for the bills or not. Although she reluctantly said she will pay for the bills before I even asked her for any monetary issue, she seems like she's having second thoughts. Also, I wasn't offered to get the cost of grooming back which was $65 + tip. My dog NEVER bit a groomer or even tried to bite a groomer in the past. She is almost 11 years old and only weighs 7 pounds. ( I know small dogs can be feisty but she is not). She was even fine having the vet look at her mouth in this condition, which even the veterinary doctor commented on. [link] [comments] |
| (Missouri) Is this considered rape? And could I get him in jail? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:47 PM PST [link] [comments] |
| “Landlord” company sent ex’s debts to my collections 1.5 yrs after I moved out Posted: 10 Jan 2021 06:27 PM PST I lived in an apartment with my ex and I listed on the lease, and another family member listed as an occupant. In January of 2019 (several months after our year lease transitioned into month to month) I put in our 60 day notice by email and received a confirmation from an employee of the rental company our apartment complex used. My ex decided to continue leasing the apartment, and to my understanding his new roommate filled out a new lease. I moved out on the listed move out date and that was that. As of January 1st 2021 I'm seeing a collection of $2000 weighing on my credit score from the rental company. Apparently my ex moved out in September of 2020 and they did not confirm his 60 days notice. They are now seeking money from me. I had no further communication with the rental company, and was never contacted about a balance owed a year and 6 months after I moved out. Any advice? Did I miss something I should have done? [link] [comments] |
| Citi Bank employee texting my personal phone Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:59 AM PST Four days ago I called Citi Bank customer service regarding an issue with my credit card account. I spoke to a representative who got my issue resolved. Today I received two text messages and two missed calls from an international phone number. The texts are: "Hello sweet heart how are you this is customer service representatives name from CitiBank (india) remember we spoke a few days ago" What is my best plan of action? Call Citi? Call an attorney regarding a representative using my personal phone number for his personal use? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 12:56 PM PST I'm having a problem getting my insurance money from UPS for a package they packed* and shipped. I sold my family china to a customer. I had a packer at the UPS store pack the china so a professional would do it. I insured the china for $1000 and the shipping, packing etc was $212. So the packer put no bubble wrap or anything in the box. The china was destroyed. I had to refund my customer. For a full month UPS asked for several different pictures, which I supplied. After no response from the UPS store, I called UPS directly. They had no paperwork or pictures. I went to the store- the woman, who packed the china, said she was doing all she can. To make a long story short, UPS corporate isn't helping me- they say the store has to do everything for the claim. The store is telling me to go to UPS and that "they are doing their best" In the meantime she said she had numerous cases that haven't been paid out since Feb 2020. How is this possible? UPS had a problem with its fraudulent funds with insurance before. I was wondering if a class action suit is warranted. There obviously are people at this UPS store who still don't have their money. It's one thing to investigate fraud on their part. But for my case they actually packed the china themselves. They should not be in charge of getting me my claim settled if they are paying it out. This is all so wrong. Any help? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 06:56 PM PST I live in Brooklyn, was just out for a stroll, and passed a group of what seemed like teenagers. After I passed, one of them came back and randomly punched me in the head pretty hard and they kinda jogged away laughing. I was very shaken up, but I don't seem to be injured and was relieved it wasn't worse - I figured I'd get jumped and/or robbed. Will any good at all come of filing a police report? Unless there were cameras, (it did happen near a school) it seems unlikely they'll catch them, and if they do, I kinda sorta feel like - so what? Unless it prevents them from doing something similar in the future, I guess. My job's office was robbed last year and it was a bit of a pain in the ass dealing with a police report. Ultimately though I just want to do the right thing and not unnecessarily drag myself into something that will be more of an annoyance than anything else. What do you think? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 05:58 AM PST Location: Canada. My mom (56F) and dad (60M) had a very successful series of businesses while I was growing up. My dad is still quite wealthy. My brother (29M) and I (30F) are both successful married adults who don't need an inheritance to live a happy comfortable life. It's not something we expect or need. Anyway, my mother will pass away before the spring. She has aggressive brain cancer. Her battle with brain tumors has been long (over 16 years) and my dad took care of her every step of the way. One of my mother's dying wishes is that my dad have a happy second marriage to her best friend. Best friend's husband died of cancer 2 years ago. So, basically, my dad and my mom's best friend have been "dating" for a year now with my mom's blessing. It's all very sweet and sad and different, I know. But I'll get to the point of my question. My dad wants to have a marriage based on love and equality like his first. His wife-to-be is lovely and not in it for the money. She has a lot less, but is still independent and comfortable. She has three adult children as well. Of these adult children, two are really independent and awesome. The third is materialistic and petty. He has been looking out for his own interests ever since his dad was dying and he would ask about how this affects his inheritance. Anyway, is there any way that a prenuptial can be drawn up that somehow allows my dad and his new wife to share their money. Then when they eventually die it gets split among all 5 kids? I'm good with this arrangement, but here's my concern. Wife-to-be will probably outlive my dad. Is there any legal way to ensure that my brother and I (and even the other 2 children of hers) aren't somehow screwed out of everything by materialistic brother when his mom is older and senile? I mean, that's my fear. Alternatively, let's say my dad passes away in a few years and his wife wants to re-marry. Then her future husband and family could literally end up with everything my parents have worked so hard for. I guess it would mostly bother me in principle. I don't need the money, but I don't want it misdirected. At the end of the day, my dad needs a prenup, doesn't he? His future wife is happy to sign one, so they would share some funds, and their separate estates would be distributed to their original children in the event of their death. He just wants his next marriage to be as fair and equal as possible. Any other suggestions for making this work? Edited to add: My dad obviously has a lawyer who can draw something up. But he relies heavily on me (his adult daughter) for advice since I have helped him care for my mother since I was a teenager. [link] [comments] |
| Landlord turning off and locking breaker box to home Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:42 PM PST This story has a lot of little bits of information that is kinda pertinent so I will try to summarize as best I can. Background info: moved into house end of October... lease was supposed to go thru April or May. Older home that landlord is planning to tear down or remove to build a new home. In Colorado. There were several outbuildings that we were going to tear down and scrap/sell materials and keep the profit. That was the agreement even before we moved in. Apparently, we were not doing this as quickly as landlord thought we should be because he started showing up and turning the yard into a construction site. Now there is no covered parking, which was part of why we wanted to move in here. We also now have to pay some people back that paid for the scrap material because he just destroyed it. So not only are we missing out on the income that was a perk of living here, it's costing us money. This also made us nervous because it felt like maybe he was trying to move up the date that he was going to try to start building his new home. We live in a rural area where a handshake is often used to solidify a deal and the landlord perpetuates the "good guy" persona so obviously it's our fault for not getting the dates in writing. We knew this would be a short-term lease. We kind of felt obligated to move in so we aren't that upset that the lease might be shorter than we originally anticipated but we also didn't want to have to move after 3 months. I am not really hung up on the dates because frankly after living in this shit hole, we don't want to stay long but it does take some time to get deposit money together and find a new house. We had another house lined up for May time frame but if we have to move before then, it complicates things a little. We were also supposed to be able to fix up the house and sell it and keep the profits to help him get it moved out of here. Moving it would cost him a good chunk of money so we agreed to sell it to someone that would move it if we fixed it up and got it out of here for him. Now, we have seen it listed for free in the local buy/sell/trade groups on FB. Again, this made us a little worried that he was changing the timeline on us. During his haphazard deconstruction, he hit the propane line with his equipment. Three weeks ago. The stove, heat, and hot water heater are all run on propane so we have had none of those since then. His solution the day after he hit it was to hang copper pipe on the propane tank outside. Didn't say that we needed to fix it or that he would have someone fix it. Wrong size pipe anyways and he is physically incapable of fixing it. I think it's also worth mentioning that the propane tank didn't get brought to the house until the end of November so again, did not have use of anything run on gas until then. Near the end of December, he called my dad, who is not a co-signer, and told him that we have not paid anything to live here and he is evicting us. Not only is this not true, but he did not relay any of his concerns to us. So this is embarrassing for us as well as for my dad who doesn't really have any background info or any thing to do with what we've got going on. Can he reach out to family members? Even if we owed him money, is that protected information?? Now to the real point... Two nights ago when we got home, the house looked awfully dark. We get inside and the power was off. Spouse went outside and the power was turned off at the road. He turned it back on and it was fine but we had our suspicions. This morning when we were home, the power goes off again. Landlord has drove up, turned it off at the road again and now put a lock on it and drove off. It definitely felt like a sneak attack. Is this something he can do?? What recourse can we take?? We have not paid January rent yet. We have basically been confined to our bedroom with electric heaters. Now it feels like he is trying to take our electric away to force us to move. We have been without heat or hot water for almost a month now and can't even really cook anything that can't be microwaved. There have been times that the thermostat has read 44 degrees in the house. He has yet to reach out to us personally. I KNOW that we could/should reach out to him but I was hoping to learn a little more about our rights before that argument. [link] [comments] |
| Rabbit Rescue Resignation and Legal Ownership of Foster Bunnies? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:06 PM PST Hello, an acquaintance of mine (I will call A) does volunteer fostering for a non-profit bunny rescue in Los Angeles County. Recently, she has become very overwhelmed by the rabbits as they take up most of the space in her home. There is approximately 10+ rabbits currently with her, many of them are special needs and have been with her for a long time. The owner of the rescue (I will call Z) has a history of guilting A into taking on more rabbits, and also pressures A to host adoption events in her home's back yard (yes, even during quarantine) as well as cook meals for free at these events, usually meaning A has to wake up at 5AM to begin cooking and getting ready. She is an older woman, but not a senior just yet so the amount of work Z asks A to do is becoming very taxing physically and mentally. A is an animal lover, and an extremely nice person, so she has a hard time saying no when someone asks her a favor to begin with, but she has had enough. Z has been constantly taking advantage of this by guilting A into doing all of this "for the welfare of the rabbits." A made a plan to send her resignation letter at the end of 2020, and sent it to Z very recently. There has not been any contract agreements with Z for any of the rabbits currently in A's possession in any sense, and A did not sign any contact at the beginning of her volunteer work. When Z responded to A's resignation letter, Z said she would euthanize any special needs rabbits returned to the rescue. Z uses threats like this to keep A from leaving the rescue. A can not take it anymore, but she also doesn't want the foster rabbits she loves to be killed. My question is - does A have legal ownership of these foster rabbits since no contracts were made and all foster placement was done under the table? I don't know what kind of documentation of the rabbits Z has on her end, but A has never signed or agreed to any terms except on the level of favors. If possible legally, A would like to sever contact with the rescue/Z and find a different, no-kill rescue to give the rabbits to for rehoming. If they are legally hers she would confirm with a different rescue that they would adopt them before cutting all communication with Z. I know this question could have been shorter, but I felt like a little backstory was important since A has been held hostage by Z's threats of rabbits being euthanized for so long. Thank you for any advice or input, I tried researching this on my own but couldn't find much for legalities regarding rodents/small caged pets. Edit: Have been looking into verbal contracts and asked A if any were made. She said Z would drop off new rabbits at A's home and say "Thanks for taking these ones." to paraphrase, with no real additional info. So it sounds like to me no actual discussion in the form of a contract was e we made, just vague thank yous. [link] [comments] |
| Can I legally challenge a foreign company that copied our design and patented it in their country? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 07:11 AM PST I'm a work in a company that designed and manufactured item X and have it patented in UK. We have future plans of globalisation. Our product have been copied by an Indian company and patented under Indian IP Law. Now they can sell it in India legally. Can we challenge their claim in Indian court for plagiarism? [link] [comments] |
| My (21F) parents want me to sign a medical power of attorney form??? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 10:09 AM PST Hey everyone, I'm a bit confused about this situation and would really appreciate some advice: My (21F) mom messaged me this morning telling me (not asking me) to sign a medical power of attorney form so she and my father could legally make healthcare decisions for me if I was unable to. This is very out of the blue, as I don't have any medical conditions and I'm generally very healthy, although of course accidents can still happen. This situation is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I don't have the best relationship with my parents, especially my mom, and from my understanding if something were to happen to me, my parents, as my next of kin, would already have the authority to make medical decisions on my behalf until I get married and have a spouse. Legally turning over those rights with a signed document just makes me feel weird, I don't know. For reference, I live in California. Additionally, there is a bit of a weird relationship dynamic here as I am 21 and a full time student NOT living at home, but I am still financially dependent on my parents. And like I said, my relationship with them has been somewhat strained lately, namely over the fact that I feel they don't treat me like an adult. Is this a common practice for parents and their adult children? Is signing it a good or a bad idea? If I did sign it, how long would it be active? I wouldn't necessarily want to be 45 and have my parents legally in charge of medical decisions for me over, say, my spouse. Any other advice would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! [link] [comments] |
| 7 years ago my father died and my step dad took all of his possessions and money Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:34 PM PST New York My father passed away 7 years ago when I was 14. After he passed away his stepfather took all of his possessions, sold his house, and held important memorabilia. (He took his watch off his dead body and kept it as well.) There was no will or any written paperwork saying who all the possessions go too. His step father passed away 1 year later and everything went to his brother including the money from the house. Am I entitled to any of these possessions ? Is this outside of statue of limitations after 7 years ? I have no law background thankyou for any help ! [link] [comments] |
| Can someone lie about having injuries after a wreck and sue someone? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 02:00 PM PST A year ago I rear ended someone in TN going less than 5 mph. There's was minimal damage to her car ($100 worth) and 5 months later after Covid started the person I hit claimed injuries. That was fine and my insurance offered to pay, she refused. She kept going to more doctors and adding more medical bills on. At this point, my insurance was questioning wether she was fabricating injuries (possibly wanting money because of covid) so they tested the black box in my car. They proved the wreck couldn't have caused the injuries she's claiming. My insurance still offered to pay for part of all the injuries she claimed. She refused again. Now, a year later I'm being sued for 50K due to injuries. My question is... does this seem legitimate with claiming them 5 months later? What happens if she's lying? Does injuries from a wreck costing less than $100 in damage cause 50k in injuries? I have never been in this situation before so just want to know if this is common? [link] [comments] |
| Nightmare of an import shipment Posted: 10 Jan 2021 07:12 PM PST In early October, I purchased and paid for a vendor overseas to make an RV trailer frame and chassis. I had it shipped to me via a steamship line in a 20GP container from China. The ship was initially supposed to make it's first port of call in my port (Seattle, WA), but instead went to another port of call first (Longbeach, CA), delaying my shipment. It finally arrived in early November. Due to COVID, there is a backup and delay at the port for container inspections. Nearly a week and a half of it leaving the ship, I receive an EAN (Emergency Action Notice) from the USDA stating that the container is contaminated with an Invasive Species of Snails and requires Fumigation or for me to return the container at my cost back to China. The USDA sends me photos of the container. It is absolutely infested on the exterior with Chinese Mystery Snails. The container looks to be in absolutely terrible shape as well and has obviously been sitting on the muddy ground. USDA, US Customs and Canadian Ag have sent out notices to foreign shippers informing them of our laws and demanding they inspect and wash the containers before entering the port. And the container in question had not had any of this occur. It was the only container on the ship with a snail infestation according to the agents. My broker gives me a few options and informs me that I am responsible for an expensive fumigation process of the container before it gets released. I give them the go-ahead to fumigate the trailer, but the port is closed on the Fridays now due to pandemic reduced hours. Another week goes by and now it is Thanksgiving, thus delaying the transport of my container and fumigation another week. The beginning of December is when my trailer is fumigated at a separate warehouse off-site of the port. It is during this time that I receive notice from the port that I owe them $7xxx in Demurrage fees. Shortly afterwards I get a notice from the Steamship line I am now responsible for $14xxx in Detention Fees of their container. My broker paid for the ridiculous demurrage fees but I told them to tell the Steamship line to go kick rocks, since they sent me a contaminated container. The fumigation now has to be done on a weekend since the only company in the area is overbooked on weekdays. I then incur an additional $800+ in overtime fees. The USDA clears my container that weekend. The next Monday I get a frantic call from my broker informing me that "your trailer isn't roadworthy". So I head to the warehouse where my trailer is stored to see wtf they're talking about. Turns out, the warehouse that my fumigation occurred at has separated my trailer from the container, opened the packaging and began assembling my trailer incorrectly. My trailer has suspension components that needed to be put on before installing the wheels or else you risk damage to the fender covers and chassis. Instead, the warehouse lifted my trailer incorrectly using a forklift, installed the wheels with only 2 lug nuts and left my suspension components sprawled all over the floor of the warehouse. They then put blocks of wood in place of my springs. The warehouse manager was escorting me and was being really pushy and trying to rush me. I had to figure out wtf they did and he was hovering over me while I was trying to figure out the best way to fix it. I took out my phone to take pictures and he in a panic asks "How long is this going to take?" "I don't know." "Well I don't have time for this and you need to leave. Now. Come on, let's go." I complied since I understand trespassing laws. They were supposed to release my trailer that day and bill my broker. We thought all was well and we sent a driver on Thursday (the earliest day we could get a driver out) to transport my trailer to the final customs clearance station. The warehouse turned away the driver, incurring me an overtime and empty load fee. Come to find out, they failed to bill my broker until Thursday, Dec 17th. Once again, the port facilities are closed on Fridays so now I am having to scramble to get a driver to pick it up during the Holiday week. I finally get a driver on Tuesday, just before the Holiday. My trailer has been sitting at the customs warehouse since before Xmas and has been incurring over $900 in storage fees from the leased warehouse space while customs deliberates. All in all, I am out nearly double the cost of my trailer in Customs, Fumigation, Transport, Demurrage, Detention and brokerage fees. I have considered abandoning the cargo at this point but I would have lost the entire cost of my trailer which is $11xxx+. On the other hand I really don't want to abandon my cargo as I would still be on the hook for my brokers costs during this process. I don't feel that my broker (who is VERY experienced in the import business) is in any way at fault here as they were just as baffled with the hangups and have never experienced such a terrible series of import events before. They have been at the mercy of the port and this entire process just as much as I have. It is now 10 days into January and my trailer is still being held for an enforcement inspection at the customs warehouse, thus incurring another chunk of storage fees, and I don't even now if I will even get an intact trailer since the warehouse that the fumigation occurred at had the parts separated from the packaging of the trailer without my permission all over the floor last I saw. My manufacturer only loaded the trailer into the container from a loading dock and the truck pulled away. They only saw the interior of the container and not the condition of the container itself from the bottom, as it was on a container bed trailer. So I don't feel they are at fault either. I am considering filing a few small claims cases against several entities. Do I even have a case to go after my shipping company, the steamship line, the warehouse or am I just SOL here? Should I pursue the shipper on all additional costs including delays? Edit: I also forgot to mention, that because the warehouse separated my goods from the container, they charged me twice for storage and "putting salt rings" around both items and other labor costs. They charged me to wrongly assemble my trailer without my permission. The trailer was sitting on casters for easy removal from the container, but these guys thought by installing my wheels and tires it'd be easier for them to move my trailer around. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:23 PM PST |
| My mom might get reported because she can't take care of her father. Posted: 10 Jan 2021 01:47 PM PST Hello, English is not my first language but I'll try my best to explain the situation. My mom father used to live with us but we kicked him out because I was victim of his sexual abuse for years. 10 years passed and now he suffer of alzaihmer and is not self sufficient. My mom might get reported because there's no one else that can take care of him. Of course we can't even let him in our house or I'll probably have a mental meltdown. We can't pay someone to be with him because our income is low, they even suggested that my mother should quit her job to look after him but obviously is not the case if we want to eat. Legally what we can do? (I'm from EU) [link] [comments] |
| Landlord Locked Access to Circuit Panel (MA) Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:08 PM PST I live in Boston MA in the bottom unit of a split-level family home. A fuse blew in my apartment tonight and I went to the utility room located in the basement (where the electric circuit panels and water tanks are located for the house). When I went downstairs, however, the landlord had recently posted a sign on the door that says "Authorized access only" and the door is locked. I have lived here three years and this is the first time he has ever locked the door. He never notified us nor gave us a key. Now I have no way of accessing our circuit breaker without the landlord coming to unlock this room. I am concerned this may be a safety issue. Does anyone know if this is legal, and if not, what code or violation it is breaking in MA? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:02 PM PST Hi! I have a hobby where there are a lot of limited-stock products and if you don't order it within 15 seconds of its release it's GONE. I'm planning to make a bot that auto-orders products and was wondering if it's still considered scalping if I'm only ordering 1 and I intend to use it for personal use. Thanks. [link] [comments] |
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