What Do You Do When A Car Dealer Forges Your Signature?
Use car salesmen often get a bad rap. And, for good reason. The automotive dealer industry is filled with the lowest form of salesmen and often has very low margins to work with. While it might seem like a “good deal”, the extra that you don’t know you are paying for is very profitable for both new and used car salesmen.
But, even if you get a good deal… what happens when you get a lemon?
First, you probably signed away most of your rights when you drive off the lot. Secondly, even the paperwork you didn’t sign… someone else could have signed your name. You won’t find that out until you sue them for the repairs the car required that were hidden from you.
(more…)- Published in Criminal Cases
Where did the phrase “Make Your Mark” come from?
The age of the quill pen is long past us, like the age of the horse and buggy. Even though we’re still using pens and pencils now and 30 years, we might be a lost art. So, you still have to determine how people can make their mark. You know that would mark me though I make their mark, tell me you do know
I could make it up, but I would never lie to you. Yeah, of course. What does it mean? Imprint? Make your imprint and make your impression.
Right? No, what do you mean? Well, colloquially it means to make a splash you know make your mark on society. Yeah, the impression most people in the Middle Ages couldn’t write. So, you just did like a stamp? Yeah, it’s not a stamp. They couldn’t write. So by making your mark that gave them a piece of coal, and they would make a mark as their signature. So that’s what made us it was really it was the first signatures was the mark. Eventually, like well, that Mark looks like his mark. Well, that Mark looks like a net. So, they started customizing their mark, which became an autograph.
- Published in Client Reviews
Do you need to hire a handwriting expert?
If you are an attorney, you are probably already familiar with hiring an expert witness for your case. Choosing the right expert witness is important. Most attorneys have worked with expert witnesses at some point in their career, but most haven’t hired a Forensic Document Examiner.
If your case involves a forged check, a last will and testament, a pre-nuptial agreement, a contract, or a signature that doesn’t seem to be authentic, you should be looking for a Forensic Document Examiner.
You should know a couple of things before you make your first phone call to a Forensic Document Examiner. First of all, how many documents do you need to be analyzed? These are the documents that you and your client think may be forged or not authentic. The Forensic Document Examiner will refer to these as “questioned documents”. This is important to know since the Forensic Document Examiner will charge a fee per questioned document.
Most Forensic Document Examiners charge a flat rate between $600 – $1500 for a written opinion of one or two documents. Rates do vary depending on the number of questioned documents. Attorneys can also request a retainer. Retainers can vary, but are normally $2,500 and most are non-refundable. You should download the fees from the Forensic Document Examiner’s website to avoid any surprises.
You will also need to provide samples of your client’s known handwriting so the Forensic Document Examiner can compare them against the questioned document(s). These exemplars are commonly referred to as Known Documents. The known documents should be from the same time frame and you should provide as many known documents as you can. For a Forensic Document Examiner to do the best job possible, the known samples should also be a high-quality copy. No one is going to win a case by looking at a poor fax copy.
Do you have to hire a local Forensic Document Examiner?
Most attorneys and clients feel they have to hire someone in their own hometown. However, this simply isn’t true anymore. Most cases these days can be inspected through high-resolution scans, email, faxes, and overnight mail. Since the Covid-19 situation, courts around the country are accepting zoom testimony from both attorneys and expert witnesses. This expands your ability to hire the best in the USA and not restrict yourself to a local expert.
If your case involves originals, and the originals can’t be sent overnight, then you might incur an additional travel expense so the Forensic Document Examiner can review the original documents.
Is it worth it to hire a Forensic Document Examiner and pay them to travel?
Hiring a Forensic Document Examiner is like buying a parachute. You never want to buy a parachute based on the lowest price. You would always want to buy the safest parachute regardless of cost. Hiring a Forensic Document Examiner is no different. You want the most qualified and experienced examiner for your case and not the examiner who is the closest. You can tell who the most qualified and experienced examiner is by looking at their Curriculum Vitae. That is just a fancy word for resume.
If you are looking to hire a Forensic Document Examiner for your case, contact us now to schedule an appointment. https://handwritingexpertdallas.com
This article was written by Mari Baggett
- Published in Criminal Cases