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HunanForeignGuy
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 989
Location: Shanghai, PRC
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 Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:20 am Post subject: |
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| therock wrote: |
| jwbhomer wrote: |
| HFG - Surely it was a criminal offence for them to pay you in counterfeit money. Why didn't you go to the PSB or the American consulate or both? |
The only reason I can think of why one wouldn't go to the PSB to report this is because they didn't have the correct visa. They could have been working on an F visa and going to the PSB would have landed the poor foreigner in deep trouble. |
1. I am perfectly legitimate on a "Z" visa and a valid FEC and have been for my entire tenure in China.
2. There is something called "burden of proof" and that makes matter extremely difficult.
3. I was paid at 14h00 on a Monday. I went to the bank at 15h30 on a Monday -- with my teaching assistant. I attempted to deposit the money into my account and the machine that verifies banknotes screeched like an air raid siren for about 90 seconds.
4. The teller got the bank manager, the bank manager called the head office. The teaching assistant and I explained where such a large amount of bogus cash came from.
5. Everyone called the uni at once -- they called, I called, and God knows who else called.
6. Their answer -- "Scarlett O'Hara-like" as I wrote before. "Oh, how could that have happened...maybe someone switched the notes...we have no idea".
Simple as that. It was the best-orchestrated scam that has ever been pulled on me in China but a school -- and a government school. So please -- going to the PSB -- what would that have served? The burden of proof was on me and it was very, very difficult to prove. In any case, it happened and they were able to NOT pay the two-months they owed me -- oh, they paid it alright --- with paper, just that with paper.
So I understand your point but I hope that you can see that (a) I am here perfectly legitimately and (b) the burden of proof issue was simply too difficult to overcome.
If you any have any others on how you might have handled this, please le me know.
Last edited by HunanForeignGuy on Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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China.Pete
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 547
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| Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:11 am Post subject: Direct Deposit |
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"I attempted to deposit the money into my account and the machine that verifies banknotes screeched..." - HFG
That's another reason, in addition to sheer convenience, to insist on being paid by direct deposit into your bank account. |
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HunanForeignGuy
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 989
Location: Shanghai, PRC
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| Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Direct Deposit |
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| China.Pete wrote: |
"I attempted to deposit the money into my account and the machine that verifies banknotes screeched..." - HFG
That's another reason, in addition to sheer convenience, to insist on being paid by direct deposit into your bank account. |
Pete,
This needs a clarification. The university HAD paid us by direct deposit for nearly all of the pay periods of the contract.
When the time came at the end of the contract to pay the airfare reimbursement, the travel allowance, the last month's pay, and the two months' that they had been negligent about, on the day when the money should have been deposited into our accounts, they announced that we would be paid in cash.
Believe me -- that set off a bell in my head but I wasn't thinking about counterfeit notes -- I was truly thinking that they wouldn't pay us at all.
It was a real smart scam -- a real smart scam.
HFG |
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China.Pete
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 547
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| Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:33 pm Post subject: Counterfeit Paranoia |
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"The university HAD paid us by direct deposit for nearly all of the pay periods of the contract." - HFG
Yeah, that would have been the last thing on your mind at that point. But I've had Chinese people refuse payment in cash for money I owed them for fear of counterfeit notes. And they're not at all shy about telling you the reason. I've had to accompany them to their bank and deposit the money directly into their account. Guess they couldn't object too much if a foreigner showed his cultural savy by returning the courtesy.  |
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