Yeap, even if it were all done on a verbal basis, let her take the OP to court. Will a judge believe her side of the story if she claims the OP offered to do the work for free ? Not likely.
WWYD - Customer won't pay for tranny swap
- Thread starter avacado11
- Start date
Nowhere did I read that was her "side of the story". I gathered she refused to pay for "taking so long" ( that wont fly anywhere)
Now, not paying for anything above the $800 "tilts" in her favor ( based on what the OP said, not her). That's most likely going to fly.
A lot has to do with the content of the alleged texts and what they say ( or what they don't say) but based just on what's written here, she legitimately owes the OP $800 for a tranny swap.
Your out of luck either way.
You will have to eat the fluid and programing cost. But she will not get it for free.
Send her a certified letter stating you will release the vehicle to her for the agreed upon $800.
If she has not paid by whatever time is allowed by local laws, then you will place a mechanics lean on the vehicle.
A $400 lesson for the shop.
One of the reasons many mechanics/shops will not do the work if you source the parts.
Also a reason to get it in writing for the possibility of additional costs.
Just keep an eye on review boards (Yelp, Google, BBB, etc, as well as any local ones) and reply to her allegations. I have seen quite a few bad reviews on yelp and such by customers, but then the owner comes in and gives the other side of the story. Amazing what some people try to pull.
You will have to eat the fluid and programing cost. But she will not get it for free.
Send her a certified letter stating you will release the vehicle to her for the agreed upon $800.
If she has not paid by whatever time is allowed by local laws, then you will place a mechanics lean on the vehicle.
A $400 lesson for the shop.
One of the reasons many mechanics/shops will not do the work if you source the parts.
Also a reason to get it in writing for the possibility of additional costs.
Just keep an eye on review boards (Yelp, Google, BBB, etc, as well as any local ones) and reply to her allegations. I have seen quite a few bad reviews on yelp and such by customers, but then the owner comes in and gives the other side of the story. Amazing what some people try to pull.
That sounds like credit card fraud to me.
Yep. She tells credit card company they are shady dirtbags (OP is not) and they were holding her BMW hostage....
.
She does have that right- at that point it becomes the responsibility of the card issuer to arbitrate the claim and determine validity of her claim.
OP
This is a very good idea, DOCUMENT EVERYTHING ( need to make that your standard practice on issue resolution anyway)
Depending on the state, text is considered having it in writing. Verbal contracts are also enforceable, otherwise you could just eat at any restaurant and not pay. Usually it's up to a maximum depending on state law, $500-$1000. She might have you at the programming though, that could be considered labor as part of the install, but you should document that the fluid is not part of labor and not included. That should all be in the text and not verbal so you have documents of it. And probably a good idea going forward to have some contract signed whenever people need work done on their cars. There's a reason all those auto dealers have you sign the contract as soon as you walk in to authorize any work.
Do you have a signed r/o for the $800? If so, you definitely have the ability to collect that amount.
Did you receive a verbal authorization (and recorded statement) for the additional items?
at this point i'm putting the old trans back in and she can find someone else to get her new trans in... and code it... and she will pay $1200 there...
Called the cops Becuase she started getting reckless. Tried to plow her car into my shop.
Basically what she’s trying to do now is manipulate the situation so she doesn’t have to pay for the repair. We offered to only take $800 and get it over with. But now she’s saying she’s only wanting to pay the diagnosis fee, in which she refused at first.
she’s not right in the head
Did you get this on video?
From my experience, junkyard assemblies come without fluid not to save weight, but that fluid is considered HAZMAT. The new/reman transmissions from Ford come with fluid but when we send the core back it must be drained.
While it seems obvious to anyone working in the industry that changing a powertrain assembly would require fluid and most likely a reprogram, the motoring public does not have that view. When we do quotes I have to be as accurate as possible and try to include anything I can think of, on the parts end, that the repair might need. Even then the service writer will usually "pad" the estimate a few hundred dollars to cover incidentals.
While it seems obvious to anyone working in the industry that changing a powertrain assembly would require fluid and most likely a reprogram, the motoring public does not have that view. When we do quotes I have to be as accurate as possible and try to include anything I can think of, on the parts end, that the repair might need. Even then the service writer will usually "pad" the estimate a few hundred dollars to cover incidentals.
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Yeah, at this point that's your best and safest choice. This is light years beyond the routine "disgruntled customer'.
But as one business owner to another, sadly its best to vigorously and aggressively pursue collections and stand your ground in every instance to avoid the 'word" getting out that you can be intimidated. ( that will cost more in the long run)
You just need a properly written basic contract.
Bubba, meet Mr. Ruger Blackhawk. Or Mr. Smith and Wesson. Whichever you prefer.
I saw a lady get in her car in the tow yard and drive it up to the gate. I don't know if she actually thought we were going to open the gate, but, it was funny...
Again, this is why I won't touch some people's cars.
New ATF would be part of "new parts" IMO. She ordered the transmission, and it was therefore up to her to verify if the replacement transmission would need new ATF and a flush after installation. So it's her responsibililty to supply you with a complete transmission, not one that requires new ATF and a flush if needed.
If you are willing to let her out the door for the agreed to $800 (as you have mentioned earlier in this thread) and she's not agreeing to that, then she's totally in the wrong because you'd be giving something even better than what was initially agreed to (ie, you're be eating the ATF which was required, and IMO considered "new parts").
She does sound mentally disturbed, and is totally syco to not just pay you the $800 you have agreed to take, and leave with a car that is fixed properly.
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