Who is liable for what looks to be a fraudulant postal money order.
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Who is liable for what looks to be a fraudulant postal money order.
If someone paid for car repairs with a
postal money order, for me, but did not
make know to me or repair shop. From
who the money order was from, and
deposited by repair shop. Would I the
customer be held repsponsible.
Asked on May 8, 2017 under Business Law, South Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Were you the one who arranged for or asked or instructed the shop to repair your car? Then yes, you are responsible for paying them, and the fact that someone else gave you a fraudulent money order is not relevant. They can try to press criminal charges against you; *if* you can show that you truly had no idea that the order might be fraudulent, you can most likely defend yourself successfully (but if there is evidence that you had reason to be suspicious of the order or knew that there was insufficient reason to trust it, you could be held liable for passing a fraudulent instrument and trying to avoid paying for services). Regardless of whether you could be criminally convicted, you would still be civilly liable: the customer has to pay for services. They could sue you (and win) for the money or put you in collections.
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