As she sits outside of her RV in Escondido, Martha Primero said she gets angrier with every day that goes by without her hearing from an RV repairman that disappeared after she paid him hundreds of dollars for a repair to her RV.
“I have friends that tell me, 'Don't waste your time, girl, you’re not going to win,’” Primero said as she readied the paperwork she had in her hand.
Primero showed NBC 7 Responds an invoice dated November 9, 2022, for $825 from SM Trailer & RV Repair for an electric converter that needed to be ordered. She then shared a bank copy of the check she paid to the company to satisfy the order.
Primero said she paid a man who identified himself as Michael Castro, owner of the company, who never returned to finish the job. She then showed us copies of texts she sent him trying to find out what happened.
“He said he was in the hospital very sick, and I apologized to him, and I said, ‘Oh, my God, I feel terrible,’ " Primero said, showing NBC 7 text from December. "I said, ‘Just feel better, and when you get better, then come back and do the work."
Primero said she never heard back from Castro.
In February, Primero went to small-claims court, where, she said, a mediator told her he got ahold of Castro, who seemingly wanted to work it out and avoid litigation.
“I said, 'I don’t trust him anymore — I think he should just give me my money back,' " Primero said. "He [the mediator] said, 'OK, I’ll let him know,' so he contacted the guy again and told me that he wasn’t responding anymore.”
Primero said her next move was to call NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 Responds.
NBC 7 also had a difficult time getting anyone from the company to call or text back. Next, NBC 7 went to the SM Trailer & RV Repair's website, and, in the quote-request area, asked to talk to someone.
A man who said he was Michael Castro, owner of the company, called NBC 7 and said he didn’t remember the job but that he would look into it and call Primero right away. He mentioned that his company’s reputation was of utmost importance to him.
He's just playing with all of us
Martha Primero
The call never happened.
“He’s just playing with all of us,” Primero said.
Primero feels that her only hope is in small claims court but says it’s been a frustrating process since she doesn’t know how to find and serve Castro with a copy of the case.
“You gotta serve, no matter what, and we can help,” said Elizabeth Lyon who is a paralegal with the San Diego Superior Court. She said the small-claims department helps about 27,000 litigants each tear with their filings, saving them time and money.
“We can address all the questions they may have, according to procedure, because they’ll come here sometimes afraid to call or think we won’t help, and, well, that’s a mistake,” Lyon said.
Here is what to know about filing a small claims case:
Court Costs
Let’s start with the cost to file, which depends on the amount someone is seeking:
- Less than $1,500: $30
- $1,500-$5,000: $50
- $5,000-$10,000 (the upper limit):$75
- Mediation: free
- Small Claims Advisor: Free
Serving the Defendant
Personal Service:
- A copy of the claim is delivered to the defendant by someone over the age of 18 who is not a party to the case
- Private Process Servers: These agencies will provide service of process for a fee
- The person who serves the defendant must complete a "proof of service" form verifying that the defendant was properly served with a copy of the claim
Certified Mail
- Service by certified mail must be done by the clerk of the court
- The clerk of the court where you filed your claim will send a copy of the claim by certified mail
- There is a fee for this service
- If the named defendant does not sign the receipt for certified mail, the service of process is invalid
Substitute Service
This is a two-step process where someone other than the defendant personally receives a copy of the claim.
- Step 1: The first copy must be delivered to someone over the age of 18 at the defendant's home:
- Residence: Left with a competent member of the household
- Place of business: Left with a person apparently in charge of the office
- Usual place of mailing other than a U.S. Postal Service Box
- Step 2. A second copy must be mailed to the defendant at the same place where the first copy was delivered. The mailing must be by regular mail, not certified mail
Even if Primero wins her case, she said she is not confident Castro and/or the company will pay up. If so, here are her options.
Primero said the process has taken more from her than the $825 in lost wages, gas, and time. However, she’s determined to see her small claims through to the end.
“I don’t care much about the money," Primero said. "I just care that he won’t victimize more people. He needs to be stopped."
NBC 7 put Primero in contact with an advisor at the court who has reviewed her case and will guide her the rest of the way. Advisors are available for both plaintiffs and defendants.
As for SM Trailer & RV Repair, NBC 7 found several negative online reviewers very similar to Primero’s and an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau. So remember: Before doing business with anyone, make sure to look at consumer reviews and have a way to contact the company if the deal goes south.
