What do you do when....

B

bwalker25

New member
you complete a car and a customer says "I will only pay you xxx and not $xxx" or "I am not going to pay"



what do you do? what legally can you do?
 
That sucks man. Was there anything that made him unsatisfied with your work?



In general, i would just probably cut my losses and forget him as a customer. Life's too short to pop a blood vessel over that incident.
 
depends on what was agreed upon....wash and wax, forget about it and move on...



reconditioning of the whole car, get my money!!!
 
unprofessionally, I would say fine, then mix up a couple 5 gallon buckets of mud/dirt and put it all back on the car where it came from, and reverse the vacuum on the inside. :chuckle: Professionally, I would always have some form with me that states the work that will be done on the car, the price, etc. and a disclosure on the backside, the customer will sign the form agreeing to pay the amount after completion, if they refuse to sign the form, I refuse to service their car. simple as that.
 
When dealing with an arsehole who had full intentions of beating you up in the first place there is little you can do without a signed contract. Take your lumps, warn all others in the area, and make sure he understands NEVER to call you again. It's a shame these bastards breathe the same air we do.....assuming they breathe air at all.
 
bwalker25 said:
you complete a car and a customer says "I will only pay you xxx and not $xxx" or "I am not going to pay"



what do you do? what legally can you do?
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Do you possess the keys? Is the vehicle in your garage?



Charge himn storage until he pays up.
 
long story short, I let my need for a detail get the best of me...I took a job that something just didn't feel right about, I knew he would try to stiff me, and I still have his car, he left today said he would be back to "get his car"....I have the keys, I have a signed contract stating I would work on the car for x price and payment due upon final inspection.



I have: the keys, signed contract w/ initial inspection form, vin#, license plate#, title information for the car. I am considering a mechanics lien...no garage
 
the car was swirled and he seemed very happy and I was about to give him his keys and he said "About the $225, I am only going to pay you $100 now and I will be back next week when I get paid"



of course we all see the problem here...thats less than half price and I wouldn't have done this job for $100 unless there was some food involved! I told him that I can't give him his keys until I receive payment in full and told him to check his inspection form he signed. Things went south in a hurry and lets say it was good I had his keys locked up in a safe.



edit: I am reasonable and might've worked something out with the guy, if he hadn't led me on when I took the job, I told him $225 up front he said no problem...
 
thanks, After thinking about this all day and then some I am just going to settle with him and make sure the other guy across town knows to watch out for him...I dont like headaches and any solution other than settling with him will be to long to persue...



I wont settle for less than $180, we will see tomorrow....



edit: thing is he isn't a friend, or family, friend of a friend, friend of a referral, or anything that would make me want to give him a discount....I got stiffed once and I dont like taking less than my dues but I dont want to be out everything....crap this sucks damned if I do and damned if I dont...less money or no money
 
bwalker25 said:
thanks, After thinking about this all day and then some I am just going to settle with him and make sure the other guy across town knows to watch out for him...I dont like headaches and any solution other than settling with him will be to long to persue...



I wont settle for less than $180, we will see tomorrow....



edit: thing is he isn't a friend, or family, friend of a friend, friend of a referral, or anything that would make me want to give him a discount....I got stiffed once and I dont like taking less than my dues but I dont want to be out everything....crap this sucks damned if I do and damned if I dont...less money or no money
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What is he going to do? Keep the key until you get the $$$$$$$.



Don't settle, that is crazy.



I have a feeling that he will have the money.



What is it? Is he bigger?? :D:D:D
 
Keep the car until paid in full. He knew the cost and knew when it would be done.



Without the car, you have zero leverage for your money.



(Pull the coil wire or an important fuse Like fuel pump or ignition to prevent him getting the car without paying)



Good luck,

Randy
 
if he only pays you partially, draw up another contract for the remaining amount and have him sign it (that way you can take him to small claims court) and make sure to get ALL his info. try to get the full amount you're owed first!
 
Keep the keys. Make sure the car is in a secure location, so that he cannot come at night with another set of keys. Do not lower your price any less than agreed. He'll pay, and you are in your full rights within the law to keep his car until he does. Be strong my brother. It's obvious he was planning to stiff you. If you had received that $100, he would've never come back with any more.
 
well its all over now, and paid in full...he brought a cop with him and the cop just helped me after he saw what I had (signed contract,etc).



paid in full - this guy even asked if I would do his new edge....the nerve of this guy, the cop is the same guy that was trying to ticket me everyday for a month straight and he wants a detail now of his honda (soft clear....ewwww)
 
Good thing you had a contract/repair order. Just a warning to anyone doing work:

If you don't get a signed repair order, your customer has the power/right to not pay a single dollar and take their vehicle after it's done and you won't have any recourse what so ever. If you try to hold thier vehicle, once the Police is called to the scene, they will let the owner have it. If you hide the vehicle, you'll get charged with theft. Without a shigned repair order, you get lein the vehicle either. That's right, if you do a repair to anyone's vehicle, they don't have to pay. Even if you have a verbal agreement. I've seen sereral Body Shops do multi-$1000 repairs and loose out because therir wasn't any endorsement. Make sure if you're doing work for people you don't trust, get them to sign a repair order stating what your doing to it and the price and have them sign it.
 
David Fermani said:
Good thing you had a contract/repair order. Just a warning to anyone doing work:

If you don't get a signed repair order, your customer has the power/right to not pay a single dollar and take their vehicle after it's done and you won't have any recourse what so ever. If you try to hold thier vehicle, once the Police is called to the scene, they will let the owner have it. If you hide the vehicle, you'll get charged with theft. Without a shigned repair order, you get lein the vehicle either. That's right, if you do a repair to anyone's vehicle, they don't have to pay. Even if you have a verbal agreement. I've seen sereral Body Shops do multi-$1000 repairs and loose out because therir wasn't any endorsement. Make sure if you're doing work for people you don't trust, get them to sign a repair order stating what your doing to it and the price and have them sign it.
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Boy am I lucky to have the kind of customers that I have.



BTW, if I would ever run into an iffy client, I would tell him: I am booked for months:D:D:D:D
 
KKK what you do is get your money but also have to hand some pre cut circles from the waste pouch on a hole punch (the double hole jobs that you use to put pages into a ring binder ) tell him that you just want to check the dash dressing has dried ok then empty these little circles down all the windshield vents.... laugh as he drives off and puts the air con on and gets covered in "confetti" then charge him DOUBLE the original ammount to hoover the car out
 
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