Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: $3500.00 cashier check

** THIS IS A SCAM ** The Cashier's check is bogus. The idea is to get you to "cash" the check and send some of the money overseas (they will offer to give you a "fee" of a portion of the cashier's check's value). Then your bank finds out the check is bogus and you have to pay back its value, plus you will be out any money or merchandise you have sent overseas (where you have no legal recourse against the scammer). A common variation on this is, the foreigner asks you to receive eBay items and reship them overseas, they will turn out to have been bought with stolen credit cards and you will have plenty of explaining to do to the FBI. Call the cops.

Re: $3500.00 cashier check

If you don't want the deal, don't cash the check. If you cash it she may sue you succesfully for breach of contract, fraud, etc.

Re: $3500.00 cashier check

Let me see if I understood your question correctly. You asked: "does she have any recourse if i refuse to refund her money?"

If I read it correctly, you are asking bunch of lawyers to advise you whether it is legal to defraud this lady from England? You must be either nuts, extremely unethical or without any moral values. How can you even ask to keep someone's money if you have not met your end of the bargain. You have not sold any item to this lady, yet you are asking to keep her money and basically screw her. That's theft by false pretenses in addition to fraud in the inducement. What's the difference between you and someone who will place a false ad, take people's money and never deliver the goods? I am sorry to say, but your kind of thinking makes me sick. You seem have no understanding of good moral values. I'd suggest you to go to church or some other place of worship and learn honesty, decency and integrity.

Govern yourself accordingly...

Re: $3500.00 cashier check

This scam works because banks will make funds available against a cashier's the much faster than they will find out the check is NG. For more, visit http://www.carbuyingtips.com/nigerian-scams.htm or Google on "cashier's check scam".

Re: $3500.00 cashier check

If you never accepted the British woman's offer, then you have no right to her money. If she makes a legitimate claim for the money, you should return it with a letter explaining that there was never any agreement. Make sure you get some kind of written verification of her receipt of the check and the letter. Make a copy of the check before sending it. Don't keep it.

Also, you might be able to track the check's purchaser through the bank upon which it is drawn.