HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — An Atlanta man said a mechanic walked away with the items he was hired to fix, but police told him they are powerless to stop it.
Tim Williams said he went on Craigslist to find an affordable mechanic to tune up a used scooter he purchased. A Henry County man said he’d fix it for the right price, and he’d travel to midtown Atlanta to pick it up.
That was nearly a year ago. Williams said he hasn’t seen the scooter since. He said text message excuses from the mechanic stopped in November
“I’d like to know what happened with the scooter, but I don’t think I’ll ever know,” Williams said. “I just don’t want to, you know, keep doing this to other people.”
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Williams found online reviews accusing the mechanic of fraud and theft long after the scooter was gone. Channel 2 consumer advisor Clark Howard said you must look at online reviews before doing business with someone you find online.
“It makes me so nervous when you look for a service provider on Craigslist or on Facebook’s Marketplace because anybody can post there,” Howard said.
A man and woman at the mechanic’s home told Channel 2′s Justin Gray he wasn’t there, and said any allegation of theft was between him and customers.
Atlanta police officer Anthony Grant said most cases like this are impossible to charge criminally and must be settled in civil court.
“They walk a fine line on the legalities of their business and how they operate,” Grant said. “It’s not quite a theft.”
That’s why Howard said there’s one critical step you should always take when doing business online.
“Anytime you hire someone to do significant work on your home or your vehicle you need a written agreement, what work they’re going to perform, specific work they’re going to perform, what you’re going to pay and when it’s likely to be completed,” Howard said.
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