Blotter: Man Only Pays For Half of $1,600 Car Bill

NEWTOWN SQUARE–On Dec. 13, Newtown Police received a report from the owner of Kelley's Mobil Automotive Services about a bad check issued to him for work done on two vehicles at his service station.

According to the report, the owner was advised that a customer had brought two vehicles into the shop for repairs on Sept. 15 and Oct. 11. Both vehicles had extensive repair work done with a total bill of $1,609.07, according to the report.

When the customer issued the check to the owner, the owner advised the man not to write the check if the check was going to be returned. According to the report, the man told the owner that the check would be good for full payment.

The owner then allowed the man to remove the vehicles from the lot. On Oct. 25, the owner received a notification from Alliance Bank that the check had been returned due to “insufficient funds,” according to the report.

The owner then notified the man of the returned check and requested payment from the man on the overdue bill. The man told the owner that he would make the full payment on the bill in the next few days, according to the report.

On Oct. 28, the man gave the owner $800 in cash for partial payment for the auto repair bill and told the owner he would return in a day or so with the final payment.

According to the report, the owner told police that he has attempted to contact the man over the past two months to receive payment on the bad check. Police attempted to make several calls to the man on Dec. 13 to which they spoke to an ex-girlfriend, who told police he had moved from the area, according to the report.

The man, identified as a 53-year-old resident of West Chester, faces two misdemeanor charges of Theft of Services-Acquis of Service and Bad Checks.