shop owners: how do you deal with a deadbeat owner

this guy comes in about 4 months ago and is all bad ***ed into building a streetrod 41 chevy truck, tells me how he will be johnny on the spot when payday rolls around and how trustworthy he is. hey, he seemed ok to me,we agreed on a plan, now my shop is in north alabama. this guy went to florida and bought the truck, he brought the truck to me, left it. i ordered alot of parts for it with the agreement that when the parts arrived he would have the cash to me, well long story short, he didnt. i had to send it all back, didnt look good on me. luckly the guy i ordered it all from is a good friend. any way this ****er wont answer the phone or return any of my calls, he lives about 60 miles south of me and i dont have his address. how can i take legal possesion of this truck? it seems like he has just abandoned it at my shop. i know for a fact he gave $1400 for it. thats about stupid. i dont want to sell it, i want it for my own, its alittle dinged up but its almost rust free. i think it would make a killer shop truck. he only owes me $400. how can i do this?

 

check local courthouse, here in Florida I can seize it via a mechanics lein.

 

here's the scoop on how to do it legal here in bama...

An abandoned vehicle refers to a vehicle that has been left by an owner with an automobile dealer, mechanic, or wrecker service and has remained unattended within a period of 60 days. A vehicle may be abandoned on a public highway or other public property for at least seven days; or left unattended continuously for at least seven days in a business or residential district.

The new law details specific notification procedures that sellers of abandoned vehicles must follow before a vehicle may be offered for sale. For instance, the seller must include the following actions:
Request the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) to conduct a ***le search to determine the current owner and possible lienholders.
Notify the owner of record and possible lienholders by certified mail of the intent to sell the vehicle.
Publish 10 days prior to the sale a notice advertising the sale in a newspaper.
File a copy of the "Report of Sale" with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the sale occurs.
Provide the buyer with a copy of a "Report of Sale" within 10 days from the date of the vehicle's purchase. The buyer must present the "Report of Sale" and a notarized bill of sale to the county licensing official for ***ling and registration in the buyer's name.

If the seller cannot identify the owner or lienholder through a ***le search with ADOR, then the seller is required to publish 30 days before the sale date a notice of intent to sell the abandoned vehicle, with a second notice following the next week.

The amended law provides that if the seller fails to provide notice to the owners and secured parties, then a sale of the abandoned vehicle would be void.

For more information concerning Alabama's abandoned vehicle law and recent changes in the law, contact the ADOR Motor Vehicle Division at (334) 242-9000 or visit the department's Web site at www.ador.state.al.us.


I just realized that most of this is targeted toward a vehicle with a ***le.. which you won't have to deal with. Do a google on "mechanics lien alabama",
that may be another option..

Brian

 

My wife does this for us when needed. She could tell you all the steps and form #'s for the state of Virginia.

Anyhow you basically have to put a mechanics lien on the vehicle. You agree to auction the vehicle for the amount of $$ due on the bill. In Va. we have to post a notice in a public place. Haven't had anybody ever respond to one yet. After the auction comes and goes, take the proper forms to DMV and re***le the vehicle in your or the company name.

It's pretty easy actually. Call your local DMV - they'll tell you what to do.

 

Good luck getting the truck sorted out.
I hate dead beats.
For future references, I get all the parts money up front before I order any parts, and the car does not sit here until the parts are here. I got burned on both of those things a long time ago. I have no storage space. There are a lot of dreamers out there, many with good intensions, but often life gets in the way. I have a set of floor pans sitting here some guy ordered back in August, to have me put in his truck. I'm sure glad he has paid for them, and I'm also glad the truck hasn't been sitting here since then. I'll have to call him again to see if he's ready to have the pans installed yet.
Gene

 

I don't want to diminish your pain but I can tell you based on the experiences of shop owning friends that 4 months isn't much time nor is it unusual. It doesn't seem to matter regarding type of vehicle, quality of work or the financial health of the client.There are the inevitable reverses of fortune such as divorce, bankruptcy, illness, death, and jail. There is the fact that some people get started on something in a big way and then abandon it because they have been distracted by the next big thing to come along.Some very wealthy folks are just out to lunch when it comes to making timely payment. They seem to be out of touch with regular working people.The truth is that spending money on vehicle customization or restoration takes it's place on the priority ladder somewhere below shelter, food, clothing, medicine, kids, school, taxes, etc.There are some cars that sat in friends shop for years. Like 5,6,7 years. All kinds of reasons. Some were eventually surrendered to pay the debt. Clients who were real jerks sometimes got special tratment along the lines of pushing the car outside or for real punishment left on the street followed by a phone call that in essence ends the working arrangement puts the owner on notice that he alone is responsibility for the car. That usually gets their attention and a tow truck. but not always.Sometimes people just dissappear or die and it takes a while to determine the truth and wait out probate or the estate handleing. The law gives you a simple and effective way to deal with this by the filing of a MECHANICS LIEN. You file the lien, and show that you have made a true effort to find the owner. After a set period (90 days I think) and there has been no response you are en***led to keep item in question or sell it to recover your loss. IF the owner does respond you will have to work it out with themEvery shop has to deal with this sooner or later.Make sure you aren't just angling to get this truck for yourself. That would be a bad thing.Having a contract helps to prevent a lot of this. The old business axiom "Know your client" is pertinent. I'm not crazy about them but getting a look at their credit report will give you an idea about ability to pay.I can't think of many shops that don't have at least one project sitting around taking up room, in the way, being scratched up or used to store ****, deteriorating and just being an ongoing source of aggravation.The only thing worse is when they write you a bad check.

 

Jeez! There doesn't seem to be any way for me to put in paragraph breaks. Sorry about the solid block of text. People usually skip right past them.

 

the long sentence is fine with me, thats how i type. every thing you say is true, i will file a lein tomorrow. i am definately not angling to get this truck. im not a truck guy. but, all of the regulars and loafers and big paying prefered customers have drummed it in my head how i should take the truck and do what i do to it. of course they all want me to sell them the truck. i want the process to be legal and honest, i dont have a problem pulling it out to wreck row, but i also hate to be made in to a chump by this guy. and by the way for what its worth, hes not dead or in jail. the guy will answer his phone, and he answers with his name, not hello but, Larkin. when he realizes its me he hangs up. hes just a ****.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that type. You will have to use a litle psychological jui-jitsu. He's probably the type who talks a good game but when he runs into some trouble and gets in over his head he is at a loss about how to get out of it and resolve the problem like an adult. And like a little kid he's afraid about the consequences so he goes and hides by ducking your calls. And he might also be one of those "conflict-avoidance" types who will go to extreme lengths to avoid being yelled at by a mildly annoyed shop owner. It isn't a rational thing but in the short term they avoid something they perceive as unpleasant. If you can be patient and get word to him that he isn't in trouble he then might be able to act like an adult and come collect his truck and so forth and everyone saves face and win-win and all of that happy ****.Some people are just more work than others. On the other hand you should not feel like someones doormat and it's easy for stuff to get out of hand in this business. Or he could just be a sociopath who doesn't give a **** because he has no feelings which would allow him to give that **** and care about doing someone wrong. God knows there are plenty of those around.

 

Start a lien on it and leave him a message that lets him know , he might just call you back and eat the 400 bucks .

in the future get the cash upfront for the parts , before you buy them ,it will keep your parts sources happy , and save embar***ing returns and restock fees, if he bails out then you only lose labor , and you can go after him with a lien for that .

thats what we do.

 

well since the larkin afair began i have started getting customers to sign a contract that takes care of me in case of another **** head encounter. and all parts are paid for up front. i will follow up with the proper legal mumbo jumbo tomorrow. thanks for the help guys.

 

keep it and make it your shop truck , then he can see you drive it around town.

 

if i do end up with it thats what will happen to it. chopped, channeled, Z'ed, 421'd bare bones and bad ***ed. none of the street rod **** he was dreamin of.

drive it to the cruise ins and make all the gold chainers nervous.

 

Hey Guy
First try a google search on his phone number and it should give you his address so you can talk to him face to face.

If google doesn't bring anything back try Zaba Search to find out all you can about this guy. His address and possibly even his job.
http://www.zabasearch.com/

Gumpa

 

Find out the storage rates for your county. If he does show up he owes you that at least.

 

Now that is some scary ****.

 

here i just send a certified letter to his last known address stating that the vehicle is now considered "abandoned" & i will start the process in 30 days.

i usually get their attention with that.

if i don't hear anything in 30 days i run an add in the paper saying it will be auctioned for the amount owed plus storage.

still no response?? i go to the dmv & get a ***le in my name. it costs $150 total.

it sounds ****ty but i've sold a couple of cars back to the rightful owner for the bill, the 150 in fees & "storage" to make up for pissin me off.

i didn't start the ****in around, i just finished it...mel

 

good god! that is spooky! thanks.

 

As Billy Clinton once said,"I feel your pain"
Business is business, this is all stuff that you should have done when you opened your business. Get all of the steps in place. Especially the sign on the wall that says you are charging so much per day for storage during the legal process. You are en***led to this for the h***le you are going through. Use this as a learning experience, because these guys will put you out of business if you let them. All of us should understand that as a business owner , you will spend a very large percentage of your time on this non-productive bullstuff. Don't worry about what the car owner thinks, do what is right for your business and your family. Do as good a job finding out about this legal process, that affects your business, as you would do on work that you perform. It is just as important to the longevity of the business.
Now go slay your dragons, gr***hopper.

 

happens far to often........as advised by others, just follow the lein sale precedure for your state, i see somebody already posted it up for ya.

either he shows with the dough, or the truck is yours......properly signed work orders are neccesary here in cal for a lien , im sure most states require that.
for an abandoned vehicle , you can lein for storage only. use the method that best suits your situation
good luck, i feel for ya


skull

 

Man I paid for the bulk of my college tuition thanks to deadbeats. Had an agreement with a friend's frame shop that I would sell off the abandoned cars that he had gotten liens on. Anything above the cash he had in the car I got to keep. File the lien, post the "auction" in a very local small town newspaper with extremely small circulation, pay the court fees, and go get your ***le.

I second the shop truck route, could be cool, could also be a target for theft if this guy thinks you stole "his" truck.

 

maybe hes dead? happened to me once...

 

In the future, make sure you have ALL of the owners info. Phone #'s, email, home addy,k etc.

Personally, I would find out where he lives and drop it off in his driveway.

 

3 1/2 years ago, i bet it's been resolved

 

Lettuce First ---Parts Later >>>>.

 

Dude....ya need to quit bumping old threads back to the top.....

 

Dang it, zombie post.

 

You died once ??????

 

now that its back on top, what ever happened with this truck? Would be interesting to see if you ever made the shop truck out of it...

 

Even though this is a zombie post, I'll add to it...

Most of the time at our shop if some one ditches their car on us, either one of 2 things happen...no paper work or anything happens...it just disapears...(s****) or 2...it finds it's way on to the street, then it's fair game, either the city snags it or a meth head does...

I figure you leave your car at my shop for longer than 2 months, won't answer your phone, won't pay your bill, show absolutly no intention of coming to get your car..It's gone...I don't want the peice of ****, you don't either..so it moves on, one step closer to becoming a soup can..Granted the process would be different if it was an old car...but your '92 Mazda is ****ed...