So my car was stolen by the mechanic I took it to and apparently that's not a crime anymore.
Because a police officer would rather believe the lies of a mechanic rather than the corroborated truth I've told him twice over with a witness to verify and documentation to support, apparently extorting money for the safe return of someone's vehicle is totally legal and you can only spend more of your own money to sue them in civil court to get compensation for the vehicle.
This particular cop offered me the courtesy of sending a cop to the location to discuss the dispute and it would have been nice if he did that before when my car hadn't been sold yet, and the mechanic was trying to extort the money out of me. If he had offered to send an officer when I called him about the extortion the first time, I would have taken him up on it. He did no such thing. He told me it was a civil case and there was nothing any police officer could or would do for me. But NOW they're so willing to send an officer, now that my car is "gone." I at least got the Commonwealth Attorney's number, so maybe they can not sit on their thumbs and waste tax dollars while citizens are being hustled by fraudulent and criminally operating businesses.
If you live in Richmond, VA and need a mechanic, don't ever use STANDARD AUTO CENTER at any of their 3 locations, they'll arbitrarily change your quote AFTER they start working on your car so you'll be forced to leave your vehicle on their lot if it's non-operational or spend more money you don't have to tow it elsewhere while you raise the money. And in the meantime while your car is on their lot, regardless of whether you have an agreement otherwise, they will tow your car to an unknown location and never tell you how much you have to pay to get it back.
Because a police officer would rather believe the lies of a mechanic rather than the corroborated truth I've told him twice over with a witness to verify and documentation to support, apparently extorting money for the safe return of someone's vehicle is totally legal and you can only spend more of your own money to sue them in civil court to get compensation for the vehicle.
This particular cop offered me the courtesy of sending a cop to the location to discuss the dispute and it would have been nice if he did that before when my car hadn't been sold yet, and the mechanic was trying to extort the money out of me. If he had offered to send an officer when I called him about the extortion the first time, I would have taken him up on it. He did no such thing. He told me it was a civil case and there was nothing any police officer could or would do for me. But NOW they're so willing to send an officer, now that my car is "gone." I at least got the Commonwealth Attorney's number, so maybe they can not sit on their thumbs and waste tax dollars while citizens are being hustled by fraudulent and criminally operating businesses.
If you live in Richmond, VA and need a mechanic, don't ever use STANDARD AUTO CENTER at any of their 3 locations, they'll arbitrarily change your quote AFTER they start working on your car so you'll be forced to leave your vehicle on their lot if it's non-operational or spend more money you don't have to tow it elsewhere while you raise the money. And in the meantime while your car is on their lot, regardless of whether you have an agreement otherwise, they will tow your car to an unknown location and never tell you how much you have to pay to get it back.
