A Letter from Fee-Ma Ford

[MineralMan]

Dear Mr. Fredrickson:

Thank you for being a loyal Fee-Ma Ford Customer. We appreciate your business. It has come to our attention that our sales manager, Mr. William Bendix, who is no longer employed by Fee-Ma Ford, made an error when quoting a final sale price for the 2011 F-250 truck you purchased in January. That error caused the final total price to be $3267.56 lower than the actual final price should have been.

Due to this error, you will be receiving a bill from Fee-Ma Ford for the balance owed us. For your convenience, we will allow 30 days for you to pay this amount in full. Also for your convenience, we are enclosing a pre-paid envelope for your use. Payment must be received within 30 days of the date of the billing. Failure to pay this bill will result in the repossession of your 2011 F-250 truck, in accordance to clause 27.555 of the Universal Fee-Ma Ford Sales Contract, a copy of which was on the sales manager's desk at the time of purchase.

Once again, we appreciate your loyalty to Ford Motor Company vehicles and for shopping at Fee-Ma Ford.

Sincerely yours,

Bartholomew Quigley
President, Fee-Ma Ford

[roamer65]

1. Sounds like you need to see an attorney.

[MineralMan]

2. Do you think so? Don't they have a right to collect the

correct price for their pickup? They're not responsible for their mistake, right? And the sales manager who made it has been fired. I mean, they're OWED that money, right?

[roamer65]

3. I'd run it past an attorney...seriously.

You signed based upon the price listed on the contract, correct? Would you have signed if the $3000+ had been correctly included at the signing? It is worth the extra money to have a good attorney look at it, tell you your rights and intercede if those rights are being violated.

Just my humble 2 cents.

[MineralMan]

5. Well, I really appreciate your help with this.

I always want to pay everything that'd due, you know. Car dealers have the Constitutional right to change their price after the sale is complete, I'm sure.

[roamer65]

7. No one has the right to arbitrarily change prices after a deal is made/signed.

No court would uphold such a situation.

Seriously, if this BS is happening to you...see an attorney.

You need to protect your credit score from this BS.

[MineralMan]

28. Of course they can't. That'd be ridiculous. But FEMA is trying to do

just that.

[roamer65]

32. Then they need to see an attorney as well.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. Sure this did not come out of the Onion?

- A language not in the original document is not considered binding
- Unless they have a lien, they can not repossess a vehicle.
- How long was it between the letter and the sale?
- Unless there was proof of collusion and fraud, trying to make the consumer to pay more later will be difficult at best. At best they give the customer their money back and cancel the sale.

[MineralMan]

6. No, not the Onion.

It came straight from me, MineralMan, who is capable of Onion-peeling on any given day.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. In that case, a letter from a lawyer telling them to pound sand with a threat to sue if they pursue

it is in order. Their position is legally untenable.

[Dreamer Tatum]

8. This is bullshit. A dealer cannot repo your truck.

Try again.

If this actually happened, you'd scan the doc and post it.

[MineralMan]

27. Of course they can't. But FEMA can. Notice the name of

the dealer. FEMA's trying to do the same thing right now to disaster victims.

[Dreamer Tatum]

31. touche nt

[Sheepshank]

9. I guess it never hurts to ask lol.

I mean, how much easier can they make it..returned stamped enveliope and all...this is cracking me up.

[1monster]

11. A legal contract is binding on both parties to the contract. The dealer knows this, but is hoping

you don't.

See an attorney. If you are squeezed for cash, try legal aid. Unless your state and local government have some weird contract laws, the dealership cannot force you to pay the alleged $3267.56 deficit. If, indeed, the sales manager actually did sell you the truck for less than the required price, the dealership might be able to demand the difference from said sales manager, but cannot collect it from you UNLESS it is stated in the contract that they can add extra costs on the contract after the contract was signed.

Also, you might want to go to your local television station and ask for their consumer reporter to look into this. Nothing works better than the harsh light of unflattering publicity to induce businesses trying to shake down one of its customers to reconsider.

Also, just in case this is a fraud, check with your local prosecutor ... you never know, you might not be the only one receiving letters like this.

ON EDIT: I missed the FEE MA reference. I misread to be FRE MA FORD...

[safeinOhio]

12. My lawyer has sent a nasty gram or two for me

for a very low fee and they have been very effective in ending BS. Nothing like a nice letter from an attorney.

[Shagbark Hickory]

13. fo real?

[dems_rightnow]

15. I'm very skeptical myself

......

[roamer65]

24. I am skeptical as well, because it sounds so ludicrous...

that any business would try this crap. But just in case this is really happening to Mineral Man, he should hand this issue off to an attorney.

[MineralMan]

29. Well, FEMA's doing it for real, anyhow.

[Shagbark Hickory]

39. I'm so confuzzled.

[sufrommich]

14. I have to laugh at everybody that is taking this seriously.

Bartholomew Quigley? lol.

[Robb]

16. I think of myself as pretty up on events

....but I can't figure out what he's lampooning, exactly.

I suppose I get half credit for understanding this is an oblique send-up of some kind, at least. :shrug:

[petronius]

18. It's about FEMA demanding repayment of some disaster funds, apparently

mistakenly disbursed over the past few years...

[sufrommich]

21. Ah, OK. nt

[Robb]

22. Ah, got it.

This one: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9N7EB6O2.htm

[petronius]

25. I think it's a bit broader than that - here's the other thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1105996&mesg_id=1105996

That looks to be one of the cases...

[sufrommich]

20. I don't get it either. I assume it has something to do with FEMA.

[MineralMan]

30. FEMA is trying to get money back from disaster victims.

They say they "made a mistake." It's been all over the news, and all over DU.

Fee-Ma Ford? Really.

[MineralMan]

38. How about William Bendix, the sales manager?

Great old character actor, and played Chester A. Riley in the 50s TV series "Life of Riley." There are some great YouTube clips from the show. It's no wonder he's no longer with Fee-Ma Ford. He's been dead for years.

And then, there was Fee-Ma Ford. Who would name a dealership that?

And how about the bogus thing about the clause in the contract that was in a book sitting on the desk?

Of course, the Bartholomew Quigley thing is pretty obscure. Not everyone has read "Captain Hook," I suppose. I should have used Bartelby Scrivener, instead. That would probably be more familiar to folks. :rofl:

I guess I'm just going to have to be more broad in my satire. I'm overestimating my audience, I guess. To be fair, some folks did get it. Thanks for being one of them.

[Bigmack]

17. All the stuff about seeing a lawyer....

I'd add this... Don't communicate with the company yourself. Let a lawyer do it.

My advice to anyone is "Shut up and see a lawyer."

That is... don't talk before you consult. Everything you say will be used against you... civil or criminal.

And no, I am not a lawyer.

[Luminous Animal]

19. So when are you going to reveal your real intent of posting this fake letter?

[sufrommich]

23. Here:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8032799

[MineralMan]

26. Uh, of course a car dealer cannot come back to get more

money after you have the car. For pete's sake.

Fee-Ma Ford? Think FEMA, for goodness' sake.

FEMA is demanding money back from people, due to their own error. It's all over the news, and all over DU. This is a parody, a satire.

I thought the phony Ford dealer name would be enough signal, but I guess not....

[treestar]

52. The only difference I can think of

It might be a condition of receiving the aid. It could all be in the complicated federal statutes that make up the FEMA, and the regulations. Not pleasant but it might be under the law.

Like people who get unemployment then have to return some of it due to errors in calculation or misunderstandings about new employment.

It's the taxpayers' money, so government errors might be recoverable the way an ordinary contractors would not.

[MineralMan]

33. Here's what inspired this satirical OP:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/wisconsin&id=8131110

FEMA asking for repayment from 2 in Gays Mills

"May 14, 2011 (MADISON, Wis.) -- Two elderly women have been asked to return money to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of floods from the Kickapoo River that swamped the village of Gays Mills in 2007 and 2008.

The State Journal reports that 81-year-old Phyllis Drake says she owes FEMA $10,000 and 75-year-old Blanche Gabel owes $520. Both women are appealing the requests.

FEMA says some of those who were approved and received benefits were not eligible because they received duplicate benefits from other sources like insurance companies or because of human or accounting errors. Drake says she doesn't have the money anymore and her insurance company is long gone."

More at link.

[roamer65]

36. Sounds like subrogation to me.

They very definitely need an attorney.

Health insurance companies also utilize this practice, unfortunately. Best to get an attorney in-line when insurance companies and/or governmental agencies start to fight, since they only look out for themselves and no one else.

Get ready. If you ever have an auto accident and your health insurance company has to cover medical expenses, you will become familiar with the term "subrogation".

[Morning Dew]

34. Keep your windows rolled down, MM.

Those FEMA F-250s come with extra formaldehyde as a bonus accessory.

[PCIntern]

35. Nice one, MM!!!

Love this stuff...I just sat around eating :popcorn: waiting for the first outraged posts...then the WTF-callalawyer posts...then the 'recrimination' posts...

Most entertaining, and a great post to boot!

Thanks!

Your buddy,

PC

[MineralMan]

37. Thanks. I first saw this story last week, on the CBS national

news. It pissed me off then, too. It's been posted, in one form or another here on DU several times. I guess I just though more people would recognize it and see the satire.

I guess I'll have to start posting a link to the story that inspired these things from now on. It's a pity, really. This is a huge story, actually, and one that should be getting more play here on DU, I think. I guess I thought people knew about it.

[Shagbark Hickory]

40. For those of us that don't watch CBS news, dude WTF R U TALKIN BOUT Willis?

[MineralMan]

41. All satire makes some assumptions. A story on the FEMA case

was posted on DU this morning, and there have been more. It was probably in most major Sunday papers, as well.

I try very hard to signal my satire as such, without coming right out and saying it's satire, which would spoil the whole thing. This OP had many signals in it, starting with the name of the bogus Ford dealership, and continuing through the entire fake letter.

I almost always catch some people, which is a necessity for a successful satire. This time, though, I caught almost everyone, so I clearly though more people knew about the FEMA story than actually did. In that sense, the thing failed, although a few people picked up on it.

I'll try to do better next time.

[roamer65]

42. I think it is a good legal lesson to us all.

These ladies should have seen an attorney before accepting governmental FEMA grants and insurance company settlements in tandem. It is the kind of thing where you want to make absolutely sure you are on a very solid legal footing before you do it. I am not saying that they are wrong. I am just saying it is a legal maze that has to be manuvered very correctly.

[MineralMan]

51. Government agencies operate under different rules from

private businesses, I'm afraid. They shouldn't, but they do. This whole thing will get reversed, thanks to the publicity, though. And that's a good thing. Some FEMA bureaucrat is a moron. He or she isn't happy right now, and future promotions are in question.

It's not a good time to screw taxpayers like that.

[Shagbark Hickory]

43. Sorry, I didn't attend Princeton.

I guess I'll have to find out what FEMA did this time.

[MineralMan]

45. There are links in this thread to the news stories.

[Brickbat]

44. This would be better if you hadn't used a real truck brand.

[MineralMan]

46. Weak argument.

How many years did they make an F-250? They've changed the name recently. So what? It has nothing to do with this post. In any case, though, the model line continues as the F-250, under the Super Duty brand. Who looks foolish now?

Don't believe me? http://www.ford.com/trucks/superduty/models/?searchid=426441&28121035&205363818

Have a very nice day.

But, great try...

[Brickbat]

47. I wasn't arguing.

I did misspeak, however. This would be better if you hadn't used a real car company's name.

[MineralMan]

49. Nonsense. Verisimilitude is important in satire.

Again, you have a nice evening, won't you?

[Brickbat]

56. Until it affects clarity, which it did here.

[MineralMan]

57. It wasn't the truck model. It was the obscurity of my clues.

I know this one didn't work as well as I hoped. Just two clicks too obscure. Plus people hadn't read the FEMA story.

Maybe next time. I forget that not everyone is a geezer like me, so William Bendix went unrecognized, as did Bartholomew Quigley. Both were familiar to me, but the references were too old or too obscure.

I'll try to remember the average age of DUers next time, and pick a more familiar story to parody. Most times, I get it. This time, I missed a little. A few people caught, but the ideas is to have most people get it, with just a few on the outside looking in.

No matter. There will be many other opportunities.

[msanthrope]

48. Whoosh goes the sound of the OP above this thread's head...

Mineral Man, you really do live the life of Reilly, don't you?

[MineralMan]

50. That's Riley, thanks.

I thought I had this one, but I underestimated my audience. Oh well...

[msanthrope]

53. Jeebus, I've been spelling that incorrectly for decades....

I think the problem was that 'William Bendix' didn't ring any bells for most people.

Which means I am aging, since that's what made my ears lay back flat.

Not your fault. It's not as if you picked 'Charles Lane' or 'Thelma Ritter.'

[MineralMan]

54. Well, I tend to use pretty obscure references in my satire.

Anyone can look up any of the names if they don't know them and question the post.

I aim for absolute verisimilitude, and insert the clues for those who are able to see them. I was just a little too obscure in this one, and nobody appears to have heard of FEMA's stupidity, despite it being posted several times on DU. Some you win...

I will admit, though, that references to 50's sitcoms and old books are stretching it. The Bartholomew Quigley reference is probably a 1 in 10,000 hit on DU. But I'm really fucking old, you know... :rofl:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

55. Dear Mr Quigley

I look forward to the visit from Fee-Ma Ree-Po

And if you see Mr Bendix, tell him I said thanks

:hi:

[MineralMan]

58. You bet will. But it'll take a few years before I get where he is...

I hope... :rofl: