We Went Looking for Justice in Argentina and Hit a Brick Wall

So we learned this week that if you want to commit fraud and get away with it, Argentina is the country to do it in.

I feel like a broken record summarizing this yet again, but long story short, I've been writing about the ongoing issues with a certain contractor in Cordoba City who took our money (U.S. dollars, not Argentine pesos) and never completed the work on the renovation of one of our properties. You can read about that here.

Suffice it to say that several attempts by various people to get him to complete the work or return the money he stole from us failed. So, we had no other choice but to hire a lawyer through our realtor. We assumed this would guarantee results. After all, we had a contract with the contractor's signature confirming that he had received the money.

We also had audio recordings and WhatsApp text messages in which the man practically admitted to what he had done, which was to take the money but not complete the work.

We really thought this was an open and shut case and that any lawyer would be able to get our money back in court quickly and easily.

We were wrong.

It turns out that the Argentine legal system is utterly useless!

We hired the lawyer back in September. At the time, he claimed he was going to negotiate with the contractor, but according to the lawyer, the man never showed up. Now, the lawyer never went into detail about what he did next. My guess is not a goddamn thing. As I mentioned in my other post, I eventually reached out to him after not hearing anything to check on the status of the case.

Well, he assured me that he would get back to me, but didn't.

I waited a couple of days, partially out of courtesy but also to avoid coming off as bossy or pushy. About 24 hours later, I finally got a response from him telling me that there was nothing he could do. Apparently, he was missing key evidence required to win the case and he suggested we try resolving this with the contractor in a peaceful manner.

I was stunned. We had provided the lawyer with a contract, receipts signed by the contractor, and I had even offered to send him the text and audio conversations between the contractor and my mother, which practically incriminated the man beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The lawyer had told us on more than one occasion that he didn't need to read or hear the conversations. Now, all of a sudden, he didn't feel he had anything concrete to nail this motherfucker? Bullshit!

The lawyer didn't do shit!

What's worse is that when I asked him kindly to please reconsider reviewing the case, the lawyer responded that after speaking with his associate, he would be more than happy to look it over again, provided we forked over 100,000 Argentine pesos for an in person consultation.

At this point, I realized that this piece of garbage had barely lifted a finger to help us and was about as crooked as the asshole contractor who stole our money and committed fraud.

After consulting with another lawyer, we got more or less the same response: "Oh well, we'd rather try to negotiate peacefully instead of going to court." And I was like... "Are you shitting me?"

If the man wanted to negotiate he would have accepted a proposal we sent to him several weeks ago to pay in installments.

I honestly don't know what the hell is wrong with the people down here. It's like Bizarro World or something.

This contractor clearly took advantage of our family, and the legal system has turned its back on us. Well, we're not done fighting. There's still the Defensa del Consumidor, which is a horrible excuse for the Better Business Bureau we have back home. But it's the only other legal avenue available to us.

Regardless of the outcome, we've decided to move forward with the renovation, although we'll be a hell of a lot more cautious about who we hire and how much money we hand over upfront.

Scam artists are everywhere in the world, but in Argentina, it seems like they can get away with anything. Moving forward, I really hope my folks take my advice and stop being so trusting of the locals because, clearly, they can't be trusted.

My advice is don't assume a contract will guarantee results. It won't! Also, don't assume the Argentine legal system will have your back.  It won't!