Ask the Law Guy

Our sixteen year old daughter is taking classes this summer and required some software from an online company.

Her instructor insisted on this one company. I am her Mom and I opened a checking account with a local bank to keep her expenses separate from the family expenses. As such, I called the company, ordered the software, and sent a check to them.

About a week later I received a rejection letter from the company with my check attached and a note that Telecheck had rejected the check. When I called Telecheck for an explanation all I got was something to the effect that "the computer kicked out the check because of lack of information, and because it was a new account with a fairly new check number, and that someone there had tried to override the computer and failed." Huh? So, I called back and demanded a written explanation of this and am still awaiting their reply. After this I put it on a card...and we wonder why credit card debit is high..haha.

Don't we as consumers have any rights concerning computers that make decisions for companies such as these?

I was a victim of identity theft about three years ago, and my hunch is that I am still paying for these thieves in some manner, although it was a bank defraud and nothing to do with credit cards.

It is not unusal for a merchant to refuse to accept checks from accounts that have not been open for long. No law obligates a merchant to accept checks so I see no reason why the merchant can't limit the types of checks it is willing to accept.

Consumers have the right to correct innaccurate information in their credit profile, but if the service is just accurately reporting that this is a new account then you probably do not have any recourse.

Now once a merchant has accepted a check as payment, I'm not sure it would have the right to return the check, unless the payor bank declined it. However here the merchant probably did not accept the check since it was returned to you.

I am a board member of a nonprofit volunteer membership association that owns 8 acres of land with a 4 acre lake. Our property is open to the public, but the perimeter is lined with railroad ties to prevent vehicles from entering and driving on the property. A tree service removed a section of the railroad ties to gain access to our property to get to the back of an adjoining property to do some work. In doing so they had to drive their heavy equipment on our dam that was not designed for vehicular traffic. We gave no permission to do so and no one thought to call the police to have them removed (I was out of town and got the word via email pictures of the act from a neighbor). I called the landowner who was having the work done and he claims he did not give him permission. He could not have given such anyway because he is not a board member. I called the tree service owner he was very arrogant that I was insinuating he was malicious and he said that he had permission from the landowner he was working for. He then showed up at the property again the afternoon after I talked with him and orally assaulted a female neighbor claiming that she had no right to take the pictures and made several gestures and then called her a "fat pig" and then left after inspecting the area he was working.

Do we have a case for criminal action or do we have to proceed with civil action?

I think it is unlikely a prosecutor would want to take this on. Your best bet might be to sue the tree service for the cost of repairs. If it is less than $5000 you can sue in small claims court.

I certainly never thought I'd be in this position - especially because as a teenager I cringed at the idea of 'constraints.'

Recently, my partner and I moved into a really beautiful home in a lush suburb of Greensboro. It is quiet, family-oriented, beautiful, and sits with a county-owned lake as a backdrop. We own the "prime" lot with a complete view of the lake and took great pains to restore the home and the grounds. We noticed a lot of people using our yard as a 'thru-way' to the lake (which, incidentally is owned by Guilford County Schools). The activity tapered off, but a new family moved into the neighborhood and their teenage sons and college-aged daughter have been running amok. Huge parties, screeching tires in the middle of the night, drugs, underage drinking (and the parents allow this!) - you name it, it occurs. I've tried on several occasions to contact the Guilford Co. Sheriff's office, but was told there was nothing that could be done. I grumbled and thought I could deal with the problems (especially being a bit empathetic to young, rebellious spirits). But, the teenagers have started trespassing on my property very late at night. Large groups of them trek through my grounds to get to the lake behind my home. They've peered in my windows, left beer bottles shattered around my yard, evidence of drugs, and they've even gone so far as to come up on my deck. I know that it sounds silly, but this 'dream house' has become a nightmare for me. The family was very defensive when confronted about damage their kids had inflicted upon my partner's car (fireworks) - even though they were confronted thoughtfully and carefully when most would have 'had a cow.' So I'm afraid to even begin to confront this problem. But I can no longer get a good night's sleep for fear of these people being on my property and potentially (A) vandalizing it or (B) committing robbery. Technically, I know they have no right on my property - especially at 3:00 or 4:00am. I have tried reporting the presence of the people and the noise to the Sheriff's office, but by the time they show up, the kids have left (because they've seen the lights), and it has gotten to the point now, where I've been told three times that "unless the individuals are causing a nuisance on my property, it will not be investigated." I don't know what they have to do to be legally considered a nuisance - certainly the noise, the trespassing? coming onto my porch and deck? peering into windows? the shattered beer bottles? the drugs? I know that open complaints will result in more actions of the kids against us and I know the homeowners association has no clauses in it dealing with this sort of thing.

After spending this much time, money, and care for a property, is it really time to move again? Or am I missing some options? I truly hope you can help, because I'm out of answers.

I think you have a few options:

Try to get the case prosecuted criminally,
Sue your neighbors for creating a nuisance,
Fence in your property.

You could try to convince a magistrate directly to charge your neighbors with trespassing. However a conviction will usually require a witness who saw the individual on your property. The downside is the penalties for trespass are low, the cases are not a high priority for prosecutors and you will waste a lot of time in court.

You could sue your neighbor civilly. If you won the court might order the neighbor to stop the activities that create the nuisance. You would need a lawyer to be successful.

You could put up a fence that would make it difficult for your neighbors to get on your property.

I think the fence and the attorney fees would be equally expensive. I'd go with the fence if I were you. Neighbor disputes are tough to handle. Good luck.


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