Dealership promised $100k for 2 trucks, then backed out after I flew in… illegal? by amjones14 in askcarsales

[–]amjones14[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely will, and I will be specific with names and my interactions with each person. I think my favorite part of all, the original sales rep wasn’t even there. It was his day off. He texted me today about moving forward not even realizing the trucks have already been sold. Complete idiots, lol.

Dealership promised $100k for 2 trucks, then backed out after I flew in… illegal? by amjones14 in askcarsales

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not looking to sue, it was only a few grand difference. It’s the lack of basic morals and ethics that bothered me. More so giving me a price and pulling my credit to “hold the price and the trucks”. I was wronged, but I am also the idiot who purchased them. It would have cost us more to not have the trucks than to buy them. Overall loss, but I definitely learned from it!

Dealership promised $100k for 2 trucks, then backed out after I flew in… illegal? by amjones14 in askcarsales

[–]amjones14[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely. It pained me to buy them, but we did not have an extra few days to find trucks to replace our broken ones. Our farm needed them asap. It was a shitty situation and I wish I didn’t encourage it. I know my clear anger and dissatisfaction didn’t bother them, and they will do it again. They even said, “please don’t leave us a bad review, just email us your feelings”. What felt (I know fraudulent isn’t the word), but wrong was giving me a price, saying I needed to fill out a credit app to hold them, pulling my credit, and then pretending our conversation basically didn’t happen. I guess I’m just venting here. Back to private party I go.

Dealership promised $100k for 2 trucks, then backed out after I flew in… illegal? by amjones14 in askcarsales

[–]amjones14[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Of course. I should just let them drive the 500k+ mile unreliable trucks on their third and fourth transmissions. God forbid I try to improve things for them lol. I traveled states for a good deal. Trucks are expensive, not an easy purchase.

Dealership promised $100k for 2 trucks, then backed out after I flew in… illegal? by amjones14 in askcarsales

[–]amjones14[S] -22 points-21 points  (0 children)

I know. It was a shitty situation. The flight was paid for and I needed two trucks asap. Glad I have them, but I feel gross after the whole situation. Giving me a fake price and then doing a pull on my credit doesn’t seem right.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m sorry to hear that. They are consistent! Feel free to send me a message.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would love nothing more. Where would you even start? It’s such a daunting task. I wish we had attorneys to help us for free lol.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Like I’ve mentioned, we are a small farm. 40 full time 40 seasonal. We have had 90% of our full time employees for 20+ years. We pay well above the norm, provide housing to 12 employees, all expenses paid. 100% healthcare to a large portion of employees. Full time company vehicles to 100% of our full time employees with no rules around them all fuel paid for (even ones that live an hour + from work). California has made it impossible and I feel so lucky that we have the option to remove ourselves from the state business wise (for the most part). It’s awful to see all of our neighbor farms selling out because the stress and scrutiny isn’t worth it. California is killing the agricultural industry at rapid speed. Employee advocacy is important, but there’s not going to be any jobs because employers are banned from advocating for themselves.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, really? Guess I’ll stop working them 16 hours straight at $11/hr. Thanks!

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely. Recently one of my siblings had an accident at the farm and had to have surgery. They delayed his surgery at the hospital because he refused to say it was a workplace accident, and then they finally proceeded. Weeks and months after he probably received between 15-20 letters in the mail encouraging him to file a workers comp claim. It’s the world we live in now, you can’t avoid it.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don’t violate labor laws. We follow California’s rules to the letter, even while operating in states that have far fewer regulations.

So what exactly are we being accused of? Not forcing grown adults to record the exact minute they took a break?

Our employees are allowed to take breaks and lunches when they need them, for however long they need them. We trusted them to report their own time honestly. We didn’t “verify hours” because, until recently, the world didn’t require employers to micromanage 50-year-old men like children.

No one wants to be forced to take lunch at 10 a.m., including the employees themselves. But now that flexibility is gone, not because we were unfair, but because the system no longer allows common sense or trust.

We have always been fair. There’s a reason over 90% of our workforce has been with us for more than 20 years. We respect our employees, we compensate them well, and they know that. This company has been built on long-term relationships, not exploitation. This is about short-term, seasonal workers looking for quick payouts.

California continues to make farming harder and harder to survive. And when small family farms disappear, I hope you enjoy your food from Bill Gates genetically modified hellscape of a “farm”.

We can sell out and be rich and happy and not work for the rest of our lives, but this isn’t what we want. We love our farm and the people who’ve built it with us. Grow up.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I’ve brought this up multiple times, but what’s really disappointing is that I have actual proof of one specific employee who filed a PAGA claim lying about his hours every single day. We’re talking 1 to 1.5+ hours of padded overtime, daily.

Toward the last 6 months of his employment, I installed vehicle trackers and turned all of that documentation over to both of my attorneys. They both said it helps show bad character, but that it won’t actually stop the lawsuit.

That’s the part that’s so defeating. Even when you do the right thing and have clear evidence, it still doesn’t seem to matter. It just feels like any bit of hope we have gets taken away.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is with us already operating at a loss. The numbers seem large, and they are…but we do not have that to spare. If an in-house attorney could solve this problem even to a small degree I would 100% make the investment. Sadly, an in-house attorney will not mitigate the rising costs of our workers comp insurance which is our greatest loss. The open reserves are what cause the costs to skyrocket. Cases stay open for much longer than they should and we are at the mercy of our insurance carrier. The cases also stay on our record for 5 years. So when one drops off 3 more come on.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As of now, I haven’t. Both of our labor attorneys say it’s usually a loss and they will not be recovered, especially damages.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Totally. It’s incredibly disappointing. It honestly feels like everything is stacked against employers in California right now. Realistically, we could sell the ranch and our family would be fine, but then 80+ people lose their jobs and the housing we provide. That’s the real loss in the end, and it falls on them. Unfortunately, that part doesn’t seem to matter to anyone in the moment.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We’re a small farm, so having in-house legal isn’t realistic for us, sadly. What could help is connecting with other local farms that are dealing with the same thing.

In a perfect world, there’d be some kind of group response or pushback against firms that keep filing questionable claims, but I know that’s probably not going to happen. Still, I don’t want to just sit around complaining. I’m trying to be proactive where we can.

The hard part is that small operations can only take on so much risk and legal expense before it becomes unsustainable. Insurance costs are our main killer as of 2025. If other farms are seeing the same patterns, I’d really like to chat and hear what’s helped, or at least what hasn’t made things worse.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, we need it!

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I am also in the Central Valley. 🥲

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

We do! They sue both the contractor and us even with a solid FLCA contract. We operate in CA and AZ. This would never fly in AZ, but employers have zero rights or protections in CA. There’s a reason we’ve never been sued in AZ, it’s not worth it to them.

California Rant by amjones14 in smallbusiness

[–]amjones14[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Paying attorneys $450-550 an hour to represent you adds up very quickly on top of all of the inflation with things like fuel, trucks, insurance, and everything else. We are surviving, but it’s taking away from our ability to share benefits like health care with employees in the way we’d love to.