SPARTANBURG, S.C. -
Michael Tessner will gladly
show you what's under the hood of his 1988 Dodge Ram Pickup. But not out of
pride. He says it's more out of frustration after a visit to Heads Up
Motorsports more than a year ago.
"They changed the oil in
it for me," said Michael.
Months later, he says his
oil light came on and he heard rattling in the engine, so he took it to another
mechanic.
"He said this motor is
ruined, the other mechanic did. They put a V6 filter on your V8 motor," said
Michael.
He went back to Heads Up Motorsports.
" I told him if he wasn't
going to do anything then I would take him to small claims court," said
Michael.
And he did, on January
31st. The judge ruled in Michael's favor and ordered Heads Up Motorsports to
pay him $930.
"I thought I'd get paid
within a few days," said Michael.
When that didn't happen,
he filed paperwork with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office Civil Division,
for investigators to look into possibly seizing property.
Sergeant Danny Shields
says these "executions", as they're called, take up at least 60% of
his workload.
"In 2012, his division had
1,050 cases. Right now, they're working 60, including Michael's case.
Shields says the process
for each one can take months and they don't always have a happy ending.
"What I tell people that
bring the executions in, first of all it's not a guaranteed thing," said
Shields. "It would be great if we could take the execution against property and
fix every bad business deal that's gone on."
For Michael's deal, we
called Heads Up Motorsports owner Chris Goldie. He wouldn't speak on camera, but
told us over the phone that the company does plan to make sure Michael's claim
gets settled as soon as possible.
And when he does get the
money, Michael says it's going right back under the hood.
We get calls about civil
cases like this all the time. Sergeant Shields says before you do business with
anyone, check on them to see if they have any judgments against them already.
Keep all receipts related
to the work.
If you do run into a problem
and don't get a response, you can take your case to magistrate court.
If you win and still don't
get a response, you can file paperwork with your sheriff's office for help.
Man Seeks Help After Winning Judgment
