Here's the much awaited second part to "How To Avoid Being Ripped Off..." .  It's full title,

"How To Avoid Being Ripped Off By People Who Want To Borrow Money Without Any Intention Of Paying You Back" .

I write this second part not as an expert in avoiding how to be ripped off, but rather as a victim.  Don't worry folks, this isn't gonna be another Brian Gorell story. LOL!

Date: One afternoon in July 2005.  Around three months after I relinquished my post as Media Strategist at UniversalMcCann.  I am seated across the desk of UM Senior Vice President, Venus Navalta, explaining to her how my new undertaking will provide a stop-gap measure for delayed payments to billboard vendors.  In a nutshell, the undertaking has to do with "buying" the receivables of billboard suppliers who can no longer wait for the ad agency to release billboard rental payments given its natural course of multi-layered processing.  For purposes of expediency, my partners and I will "buy" the receivables at a discounted rate in exchange for a letter of assignment written by the billboard vendor and addressed to the Finance Director of the agency that the upcoming payments for the billboard rentals are to be assigned to me and my partners.

Venus gives an affirmative nod that the undertaking is indeed possible.  Along with the nod comes the question, "How much interest is being charged?" .  The answer comes in the form of another full explanation which is summed up in this: "We cannot call the finance charge 'interest' as we know it because there is no fixed period by which we can peg the return of the amount front-loaded to the supplier.  The finance charge is dependent on the risk involved and the actual status of the bill.  For example, if the bill is already due for payment within a week's time, and the amount has been already paid by the advertiser to the ad agency, the risk is minimal and therefore, finance charges are kept at a minimum.  On the other hand if the bill is still in the hands of an advertiser quite known for delayed payments, the obvious risk involved signals that a larger charge for cost of money will be applied".  Satisfied with the answer, Venus remarked, "Naku, eto talaga si Lloyd, kung anu-ano ang mga napagiisipan".  Indeed it may sound like a newfangled idea in the realm of media and advertising but, as it is, I find that this is not any different with how receivables are treated back in Negros where sugar "quedans" (warehouse receipts) are mere pieces of paper and yet are considered as negotiable instruments.

Fast forward to three months later, October 2005.  A supplier emails stating that their outfit would like to receive advance payment against their upcoming receivables for the next three months (October, November, December 2005).  As the Finance Manager of their billboard company, she emails to say that she would be in Manila on such and such a date and that she will give me the Letter of Assignment during the meeting.  The problem was that at that specific point in time, her mother was in the hospital, critically ill and needed the money badly.  Translation :  please send the money now!!!

I threw caution to the wind on the basis of three things:
1) This was a supplier whom I did not encounter problems with during my agency days.  Character-wise, I felt that this was going to be a safe transaction.
2) I was well aware that an email can be admitted in court as (electronic) evidence.
3) The deposit slip would always serve as additional evidence in the event that estafa would be committed.

Net, I deposited the money in the nick of time believing that I was the Good Samaritan who would help someone with a legitimate need (her mother was indeed in the hospital).  I have to admit, it is difficult to strike the balance between being wise and being generous.  After all, if there is one thing I clearly remember from my Bible School days in London, it was this statement from an Australian preacher, Les Holmes, who said to our class, "I'd rather be fooled into giving what I have, than hold on to the same and be judged later on for having a hard heart".

The amusing twist in this story is that as we were scheduled to meet up in Manila on a certain date, I found out that I had a gift certificate to Bohol Beach Club which was about to expire within a few days before the said meeting.  Still maintaining confidence in the other party, I opted to pass up the meeting and instead fly to Bohol with my family.  The meeting was obviously missed and I wasn't able to get the letter of assignment.  As it was, (now here's the part where the violins come in to play) apart from obtaining the money from me, this billboard supplier had also collected the sums which were supposed to be assigned to our group as financiers.

Fast, fast forward to today.  The debt still remains unpaid.  I have exercised enough patience with this supplier.  Two and a half years is a long time to hold on to someone else's money.  Despite repeated emails, texts, and an actual face to face meeting with the supplier's husband at UniversalMcCann last June, no sense of responsibility is taken from their end.  No effort shown to pay back the amounts lent.

Reader, I would like to believe that I have extended my patience way beyond what is required.  And even then in the light of the 2.5 year wait and counting, I would still like to believe that if another thirty, sixty, or ninety days is required of me, I will gladly extend the same to them IF, there is any sense of responsibility displayed from their end.

As it is, it seems like what I have left now is the email, the deposit slip, the demand letter, and a draft of the complaint affidavit, all ready to be filed.  Justice can come swiftly for me.  My wife is the Assistant City Prosecutor of the city I live in.  It won't take me 90 days to get the couple summoned for a preliminary investigation, and, as there will be sufficient grounds for the filing of a criminal case, I could tell you, despite the courts being loaded with aging cases, we could hopefully see a conviction by end of year.  If they are smart enough, they'll just opt to do an out of court settlement.

Ahhh, sweet justice!  The human side of me can relish in such sweet vengeance.  But since today is Good Friday, the most significant day in the calendar when I am supposed to remember how Jesus pardoned me of my debts, I can only be reminded to take it easy.

Here's what Jesus had to say in Matthew 18...

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Have a happy Holy Weekend!

(don't forget to participate in the poll above  )

part 3 still to come!