Local scrap dealer provided contact information for this individual to remove a van from our home to the dealer's business. On arrival, Mr. Laskey asked how much the scrap yard was paying. I told him the price: $265 per ton and my estimate of the gross to be realized, about $620. He stated my estimate was wrong because I was using the GVW, while the actual weight was substantially less and advised I would realize roughly half, $250... $300 at the most. I was paying him $60 to tow the vehicle and remarked that if I had known this, I would have sold it to a national operation prepared to pay $250 with no towing charge. At this juncture he offered me $250 with a waiver of the towing expense "because [he could] take some parts off it" for resale. Taking him at his word, I agreed, although his somewhat furtive manner made me uneasy and the speed with which he concluded the deal and left increased the feeling. As he drove away, I realized it was unlikely the vehicle would weigh less than a ton, even empty, if the GVW was over two tons. I checked the brand database and discovered that at $265 / ton, I would have received about $500 from the dealer at the 'curbside' weight. I called the dealer to confirm how they determined the weight and learned that Mr. Laskey had already delivered the vehicle and taken payment. This was *less* than 30 minutes from the time he left my yard and it was a 15 minute trip. No way he could have "recycled" any parts. He lied, he cheated us out of $200 and he knew exactly what he was doing. When I asked him to make it right, his response was "That's not going to happen." My attorney advised I would not be able to win a small claims action. At least the scrap dealer will not refer him again, but clearly ethical behavior / fair dealing are not part of his business practices. Caveat emptor.
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