I got scammed can i sue?

[dasco]

I have some land in Florida worth $15,000 so I talked to a lady who said she was from the Hotel which i purchased the land from and we ended up signing a contract that says she will refund $3,000 I sent for a down payment or something like that. But now she is ignoring my phone calls and not answering ANYTHING. the contract says i will receive $15,000 along with the $3,000 refunded. what should i do? small claims court?

[hillocke]

I would contact a lawyer immediately. Honestly, with a transaction of this size, I would have told you to do this with a lawyer present. Sure you can definitely sue her. I don't know what kind ( small claims or not) as I'm not a lawyer, nor do I know state laws. It's going to probably depend on what was stated in the contract, if any specific details even were. I would go see a lawyer immediately however. You don't want to wait on this. Honestly this could be a scam. Hate to say. A lawyer will be better able to advise you. If u can't afford one, there are many that work on contingency . Meaning they don't charge a fee, unless you win the case of course. And there are some excellent lawyers that do work that way. A top notch lawyer will charge around $500.00 an hour from what I've been told. If u ever ever do something like this exchange of monies again, protect yourself and the other party by having YOUR lawyer in place first. And best advice I can ever give you.... Make copies of EVERYTHING!! Otherwise you have no leg to stand on in court. Good luck with everything! :))

[jarl]

Yes you sue if you have a contract