antique store on Third Ave., in Chula Vista

antique store on Third Ave., in Chula Vista

Dear Sir, I don’t know if I have enough money to hire you, but I want you to know what happened to me because I think you should be aware these things are happening, so that you can help protect senior citizens, and the public in general. I saw this sewing machine in an antique store on Third Ave., in Chula Vista. This was not just any old sewing machine; it is an old green Singer, in a cabinet, just like my grandmother used to use, and that was why I wanted it. -I don’t have much money, but I wanted to give my granddaughter this machine, because I thought it would make a great wedding gift for her. When I put the machine on layaway, the owner, a male, assured me that it was in good working order. When I went in to pay the final fees, his wife was there. I paid with two money orders and she told me to leave them blank. She put them behind the counter, gave me the change from one of them, and gave me a receipt that said paid in full. She seemed like a very nice woman, (just like the people at the dental clinic, but I didn’t think the same thing would happen twice). I did notice that when I asked her to turn the machine on to see if it worked, her hands were shaking, but I thought maybe she wasn’t feeling well, or something. When the machine did not work, I asked her to have her husband fix it, and then to deliver it at his leisure. She said it needed a bobbin, thread, and a couple other things, so I went next door to the sewing store, got these items and brought them to her, so they would have everything they needed to fix the machine up. I felt sorry for her because she seemed so nervous and I told her not to worry, that if the machine failed to work at all, we would just put the money on something else in the store; as I said, she seemed like a very nice lady; this store seldom has any customers, and I didn’t want her to worry; in short, I was being kind. I forget sometimes that some people mistake kindness for weakness. I left the store and kept wondering all week why they had not delivered my sewing machine. Just as I was about to call them, I received this first call from her today, saying, “The money orders that were lying on the counter had ‘gotten lost.” I could not figure out what she was talking about. I hung up and found the receipt she had given me, as well as the money order receipts, and put them in a safe place. I didn’t want to, but I knew that in order not to feel powerless, I had to confront this situation. I called her back awhile later and talked very nicely to her, in an effort to try to work things out. I explained that I just wanted them to deliver the machine as promised, or refund my money. (I still figured it was just all a misunderstanding at that point.) She said, “You can’t prove I told you not to make those money orders out and sign them, now can you?” Then she said that she had a witness “who would say she saw me take them,” and that she was going “to have me thrown in jail.” At this point, I just hung up the phone in mortal fear-why? Because I. felt so powerless and I already knew the things that can happen when a person is powerless. I was actually curled up in the corner, afraid to leave the house, or answer the door. Well, this woman must have had second thoughts-at least to some degree. She left a message later on, that said she “was going to consider it ‘paid in full” and that I “had 24 hours to come and pick up the merchandise I had placed on layaway.” (She was well aware, of course, that I had no car, and they had promised to deliver it.) Then I knew. The whole thing is that the machine does not work, and they know it, so they don’t want to deliver it. They did not want their lie exposed and so they concocted this story about the money orders, etc. They will also be more than happy to bandy it about town, that I am a thief. I have to remember that I am getting old, and that people will try to take advantage of me, but what they don’t not realize, is that I’m smart; they just see an old, toothless lady and think they can do anything they want to her. Well, the next thing I knew, I had received another phone call that was obviously being recorded. I was told that, even though they know I do not drive, they were not going to deliver the machine; instead, I was instructed to come to an isolated area at a certain hour of the night, on a certain day and at a specific time, to pick up the machine. Needless to say, I just had to drop the whole thing and let them have the money and keep the machine. I am out almost 70.00 and don’t have the machine. I feel powerless, because I could not solve this. Anita Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User