There’s nothing worse than knowing you’ve been ripped off, and that your hard-earned money has lined the pockets of a scammer or of someone who hasn’t done their job properly.

And when you’re an entrepreneur the results can be even more disastrous as it could put your whole company in jeopardy. Here’s what you should do if you’ve been scammed, ripped off or let down due to negligence.

Ripped Off By a Professional

Have you hired the help of a professional to make a situation better, and they’ve made it worse? This could be a broker, financial advisor, accountant or other professional that you’ve got in to help with the running of your business. If you have lost out due to bad advice or negligence from them, you could be entitled to compensation.

You could research companies dealing with professional negligence and get their advice. When hire a professional they have a duty to do their job correctly and so if something happens as a result of them it’s not acceptable.

Ripped Off Online

The internet gives us endless opportunities, but it’s also a scammer’s dream. You might think you’ve found an excellent deal on products or necessities needed for your business, but then the items never show or the site gets shut down. One way to prevent this is to use a secure payment such as Paypal when you’re buying anything. In the event of a problem, you’ll get your money back. Never make bank transfer payments or use a service such as Moneygram as these are favored by scammers overseas. If you have been a victim of online theft online and you paid by credit card and the transaction was larger contact your credit card company, as bigger purchases be automatically protected by them. This applies even if only a fraction was paid on the credit card, and the rest using another payment method. You could also contact the website where you bought the item and see if they can help. If it was a larger purchase, you might have to go to court and fight for your money back this way.

Ripped Off By a Car Garage

If you provide your employees with a company car, you will be responsible for any repairs and services. It’s important to remember that when you take your car into a garage, it’s protected under law. This states that anyone you entrust with your property has a responsibility to take reasonable care of it. If they fail to do this, it means they’re responsible for any damage or loss incurred while the car is in their possession.

Reasonable care and skill must be used, and damage as a lack of these means they are responsible. Other ways you could get ripped off by a car garage is being overcharged or charged for parts that didn’t need replacing. It’s important that you get a written quotation for any work, and ideally, the mechanic will explain the problem.

You can also ask for any parts to be replaced to be kept so you can have them looked at if you’re suspicious they’ve been replaced for no reason. Using a regular, trusted garage is your best bet. Read the reviews online carefully before going somewhere new. If you were ripped off, you could report this to trading standards who will investigate the situation.

This post has been contributed by Ryan Gatt, it may contain affiliate links.