How Do I Prove a Receipt is Inflated and Fraudulent?
Full Question:
I am was sued by my landlord for $2000.00 in small claims court. She produced fraudulent receipts of services that were never made in my apartment. The invoices on replacing a ceiling fan by a licensed electrician were fraudulent the receipt didn't have an invoice number and the cost of $1200.00 was outrageous. We were friends in the past but now she is doing everything to extort money out of me. The judge ruled in her favor of $1500.00 and none of the procedures were ever done to the property. I am filing a for another judgment by jury but a judge has to review it to see if there is fraudulent evidence in the first claim. I am trying to find out what a legitimate cash receipt from a self employed electrician should have on it and do I have a right to see his original receipts all he had down was a list of stuff he purchased and 500.00 for labor. I looked up online how to install a ceiling fan and it basically said you could do it yourself. I have a licensed electrician coming to give me a price on how much he would charge if he did the work on Monday. He told me $1200.00 was a rip off.
08/07/2010 |
Category: Landlord Ten... ยป Lease Violat... |
State: Massachusetts |
#22850
Answer:
Business records are able to be obtained through the discovery stage of a lawsuit through a request for production, or may be asked for in a subpoena duces tecum issued by an attorney. In order to prove inflated charges, some of the evidence that may be used include pictures of the work performed along with estimates from those in the same field. The more estimates used for comparison the better. It will be a matter of subjective determination for the court, based on all the facts and documents involved. The is no statute specifying what needs to be on the receipt, but the more unprofessional it looks, the more it will weigh on credibility in the court’s determination.
