Trade gone wrong......................... thoughts?

you'll be lucky if your car is even there!!!!!!

 

Damn shame ...a mans word and a handshake used to be all that was needed!

 

Guy comes to my house to give me an estimate on my 57 Chevy. Car is almost fully disassembled for a complete rust inspection. Told him exactly what I wanted done and he gives me an estimate. $4,000.00 labour and I supply all parts.I agree and he gets the car. Car is supposed to be a max 6 months as he had several to do.I pay 2 grand up front.He strips my car to bare metal and does some of the sheet metal work.He puts my car aside and 6 months pass. Its winter now so I really don,t care as its inside. Come spring he informs me he won,t finish my car unless I cough up another 2 grand on top of the agreed 4! He threatens to put it outside to rust if I don,t pay. I call the cops who tell me to get my car back if possible. The guy is really pissed now that I spoke to the cops who also told me I,m not the first to get fucked over by this guy. Took me 2 months to finally get my car which I did find pushed outside one night. Another 2 months of threats to get most of my now damaged trim back. Got another guy to look at the car and it costs me another 3 grand to finish it. I make sure I tell everyone about the crook and I point him out at every car show I see TED JOHNSON of Parry Sound at.....

 

i would get the car back before i went pissing in someones wheaties , theres no way i would want this dude working on my car after ive pissed them off ..

good luck man.. sounds like a mess

 

#15, those were my thoughts, word for word, as I read the thread.

 

never fails,the first person to get their end of the bargain most always fails to deliver on their end.

 

Go get the car back and then deal with him on the $$$ later. The last thing you need is an issue with getting your car back, or it magically gets damaged, or some parts are misssing, or the work was poorly done, etc . . . now that would REALLY suck. Dale

 

You can't put a lien on someone's house unless you have an contract and unpaid invoice from a licensed contractor or you are collecting on a court judgement. If you do you, the victim, will be the one getting sued.

Don't listen to people spouting off--you'll still be screwed but be in trouble yourself too.

 

Legal advice from a real attorney would be cheap insurance for you to stay out of trouble. And even if you spend a buck and a half on a letter from a real attorney it may be worth it. 1 1/2 years is way to long. (then reposses your work if all else fails!)

 

I myself would go down with a trailer.Pick up my car and whatever parts are yours .Hand him the bill for work that you have done.Hope he pays it.

Then just write this one off as another lesson that we hate to learn.

 

Get your car.....then send "no-neck, knuckle-draggin Louie" over there to collect. Tell Louie to bring you the money back.....or one of this guy's ears.

 

I been in busssiness over 26 yrs I also will barter heres what I would do........ Monday at lunch time bring your lunch and eat it at his place of bussiness. And talk about your car how cool it is... Tuesday bring a friend and eat your lunch .. do the same Wed bring your lunch and 2 friends...do the same Thursday bring your lunch and 3 friend to show your cool car. Friday bring your lunch and 4 cool friends to show your cool car.. I think very soon you will have your cool car back.. Good Luck

 

take him to TV court and let Judge Judy sort it out

 

If OR has the same laws as NC, then you can always put a construction lien on the property where the work was completed. That will solidify your position......

Additionally, an agreement is a contract in whatever form... some are harder to prove (i.e. handshakes) but they are contracts nonetheless and completely enforceable by law....... but in the end the best remedy in my mind is to explain how you are feeling in specific terms and try to come to some resolution without having to take any legal channels......... and if that fails, file a lien, send a bill, then a demand for payment and then a court-filed complaint.......

 

Easy now.. I chimed in on a thread that the guys spelling and grammar was all fucked up and ryan pm'd me It was really fucked up .. This guys aint all bad and maybe its not what it appears retyping it here.. Ill shut up now..
Dave

 

as a contractor you know if you can lien his house or not if you can i would pick up my car and do it.any way it time to move on. i live by the rule dont sweat the small stuff and worry about whats really important. in the scheme of things this is small stuff.

 

First, Go get your car...
Can you invoice the guy for the work you have done? I would mail him one with terms (Net 15 days, or Net30) If he stiffs you there, send him another one, 15 or 30 days later with a late fee and so on. At least this way, It shows a business transaction and essentially you are making money from late fees even though that is not your objective. People react to high bills especially one with a growing amount if unpaid. An unpaid invoice holds better in court than a handshake ..my .02 Good Luck!!!

 

Now this is a good idea.Also make sure you keep coppies of this also.

The legal system loves a paper trail.

 

Sign the guy up for Dr. Chuck Taylor's Converse dental plan.

 

Get the car loaded THEN give him the bill...........

 

At this point you don't want him doing the work on the car. Pissing him off won't make his work any better or faster. Get the car, present him with a bill and move on. Sometimes you just have to eat it. Your car is not going to get done there. Pat.

 

Thats what i think.... i dont know what you did but say its a new roof. im sure those shingles on the ground wont be to nice in the winter with snow and rain... BFH will show him who is boss.

 

1. Get the car first.
2. try for the cash in a calm /professional way.
3. take him to small claims court, they dont have lawyers just you & him. this is the last resort. you may only get a judgement thats not collectable but at least you could frame it.
Ron

 

In most states, this is called a 'mechanic's lein' (fitting, isn't it?) and will take precedence over any and all other leins. A mechanic's lein must be satisfied prior to any action on the title of the property - i.e. to sell it, or refinance, etc.

You'll need copies of the receipts, and if possible, proof you did the work. File these with the lein, and you'll have to have him served with it as well.

Please, FIRST make sure you get your car out first, as if he's got it, he may also be able to charge you storage for it as well. If he's got the car, he can backdate the storage bill for pretty much as long as he wants.

I'm thinking in most states a verbal contract is limited in value to only $5000.

I know here in Oklahoma this isn't true. I'm no licensed mechanic or contractor, but I filed a mechanic's lien over some work I did on a house I lived in. The work was done in exchange for rent, but the chick was my dad's GF, and she told me one thing, and lied to him about it. Needless to say, they took us to court over the money, and won, but the judge wouldn't make me remove the lien. I got my money back so they could clear the title in order to sell the house.

I like this idea... repo the roof! If I were closer, I'd offer to help!

 

reminds me of a guy I knew who was in the landscaping business, couldn't get paid for "top soil' he had delivered and it had been a while grass was growing nice, yard looked great, anyway he shows up one Sunday morning 6 am fires up his backhoe backs it off the trailer that's behind his dump truck , the guy comes running out of the house asking him what the hell he is doing? " I'm here to reposes my topsoil" had a check in his hand in 5 minutes

 

About 15 years ago in the old country I had a "non paying customer" agenst which I got a court order allowing me to repocess "parts & materials", What fun it is to recover welded in patch panels on a freshly painted car while two cops are having to physically restrain the dumb asshole.... A day I'll never forget!!!!

Moral of the story...

Get your car back...

Give him 30 days in writing...

Then repocess "parts & materials"...

Nuff Said!!

 

Your $2400 is GONE! It wasn't wasted if you learned your lesson, it was tuition in the school of life. Be nice when you bring the trailer to pick up your car and tell the guy you want to try to do the work yourself and you'll work out something else with him to balance the barter deal. Sign nothing leaving a paper trail that your car was ever there ( later storage fees ?). When your car is safely home under lock and key try whatever to collect but after a year and a half with no contract...your $$ is GONE! But you knew that before you posted here.

Terry

 

The story about recovering patch panals almost made me wet my pants.

Irishpol 1 stiff 0 Sometimes the good guy wins.

nuff said

 

You're financially fucked. You have no right to present your nemesis with an account for forgone money.... unless you had a cause in your contract that in the event of non-compliance within the terms of the contract the value of the work done could revert to a monetary value. Without that clause you have no rights regarding converting your materials and labour to money.
You can only require him to complete the contract as it was originally agreed, it is unlikely he would agree to a variance of the contract as the contract as it is, is working in his favour.
The document you propose to give him is useless, expect to be laughed at.
You are in a weak position and he knows it. As I see it you have only two options.
1. Appeal to him to honour the contract and do the work, if you can, ask him to agree to a completion date. I would also offer to help him do the work, that way when you turn up to help he has to start work on you job, and your presence should also ensure you get a reasonably good job done.
2. Go get the car. Put a trailer outside his place with a sign outlining your grievance.....see what happens next. (I'm being mischeivious, but this tactic has been proven to work in the past).
Good Luck!

Good

 

Bingo ....that's the only way you can deal with this ..lien won"t work without a contract and I believe that you only have 30,60 or 90 days after completion to file, cant remember what the time frame is but you are limited . Now the guy is going to be pissed off and d o shit work on your stuff ...so just get your car send him at least 3 bills the last one certified and if he doesn't pay right it off