Petty stuff but need help

[catwhisperer]

Hey there,
We have a place that did car repairs - brake job - and they are taking us to small claims court for $230. Total bill was $330 and we paid $100 We told them we were NOT satisfied with the work, the brakes still grab, had to go back once already. They are pursuing this because of a personal matter - husband used to work for the wife of the car repair place. They (man who owned car repair shop and wife who is real estate broker) conspired to withhold part of my husband's commission to pay the bill but backed down on that.

Anyhow, we told them that they violated the Fair Debt Collections Act doing this - we are in PA and it is illegal to attach wages and the husband contacted his wife to try to collect the debt. On top of it I think they are adding finance charges which were not authorized or agreed upon.

We are going to take the car to a place to give us a estimate for the repair to the repair job.

Any ideas of other action we can take. We do NOT want to pay for this so called repair job - don't have the extra $230 floating around.

[Viper]

Here's what I would do if I were in your shoes. First off if in fact they didn't properly repair your car, you need to prove that. Take your car to at least 3 different repair shops (if one of them was a dealership even better) and get written estimates stating what is wrong and how much it will cost to repair and also that the previous work was not done correctly. Next, let them sue you, file a counter suite for the $100 + court costs. Go to court present your case to the judge and hope for the best. Also be sure to have a written time line starting when you first got the repairs and include all phone calls and attempts to fix the problem.


-Viper

[catwhisperer]

Here's what I would do if I were in your shoes. First off if in fact they didn't properly repair your car, you need to prove that. Take your car to at least 3 different repair shops (if one of them was a dealership even better) and get written estimates stating what is wrong and how much it will cost to repair and also that the previous work was not done correctly. Next, let them sue you, file a counter suite for the $100 + court costs. Go to court present your case to the judge and hope for the best. Also be sure to have a written time line starting when you first got the repairs and include all phone calls and attempts to fix the problem.


-Viper

They already have filed in small claims court - don't know date yet, it is at the post office waiting for us to pick it up. But Thanks! That is a good idea. Do repair places charge for these estimates?

[Viper]

You will have to ask if they charge for estimates. If they do maybe you can work it out so they can credit part of that charge to your bill once you have the work done.

-Viper

[catwhisperer]

Well, paid for an estimate, the brake job was done wrong, back brakes are bad and cylinders need to be replaced.

We WILL fight this. Car repair places cannot be allowed to rip people off.
Little people of the world UNITE! This car repair guy drives around in a Hummer and just built a brand new shop. We have a friend who has already reported him to the NY Better Business Bureau for a bad repair job.
Wish us well!

[GoingDown]

Well, paid for an estimate, the brake job was done wrong, back brakes are bad and cylinders need to be replaced.

We WILL fight this. Car repair places cannot be allowed to rip people off.
Little people of the world UNITE! This car repair guy drives around in a Hummer and just built a brand new shop. We have a friend who has already reported him to the NY Better Business Bureau for a bad repair job.
Wish us well!

This is good. I wish more people would fight against stuff like this. You're on your way to winning this lawsuit. Make sure that they put in writing just exactly what was wrong with the other "repair" job and how much it will cost to do it right, so the judge can read it when you go to court.

[catwhisperer]

Went to court and lost need help!!!

I cannot believe this. The car repair guy won in court. We apparently needed to have the other car repair guy come in and testify. So now the $218 bill is up to $311. This is now about principle. Why should we have to pay for a faulty job. The brakes need about $180 worth of work - close to the amount of the original amount due. We have a neighbor who has reported this guy to the NY authorities (we are in PA though).

How can we contest this and win this time. This cannot be possible that we have to pay for faulty work!

[GoingDown]

I cannot believe this. The car repair guy won in court. We apparently needed to have the other car repair guy come in and testify. So now the $218 bill is up to $311. This is now about principle. Why should we have to pay for a faulty job. The brakes need about $180 worth of work - close to the amount of the original amount due. We have a neighbor who has reported this guy to the NY authorities (we are in PA though).

How can we contest this and win this time. This cannot be possible that we have to pay for faulty work!

I'm surprised about this. You had proof and you still lost. Try to appeal the judgment. Can you get the other repair guy to come in and testify? That's probably the only way you can win in on appeal.

[catwhisperer]

I think that is why we lost. We took the estimate to court but were told that the car repair place had to come in and testify! This is ridiculous but we'll see what we can do. We're in a small town and I think the car dealer must be in cohoots with the judge - he's in alot suing people - big revenue for the court - don't get me started!

We're going to wait 27 days and then appeal - drag it out as long as we can.

[HHM]

I cannot believe this. The car repair guy won in court. We apparently needed to have the other car repair guy come in and testify. So now the $218 bill is up to $311. This is now about principle. Why should we have to pay for a faulty job. The brakes need about $180 worth of work - close to the amount of the original amount due. We have a neighbor who has reported this guy to the NY authorities (we are in PA though).

How can we contest this and win this time. This cannot be possible that we have to pay for faulty work!

To be fair, you did blow it.

This is what happens when people think they know what they are doing when they go to court, but don't. I am not being intentionally harsh, but any first year law student could have told you that you needed a mechanic in the court room to testify to the problems. The estimate is not admissible evidence without the testimony of the mechanic who gave it.

So don't get all conspiracy theory on the court when this was your mistake.

Also, you are generally not allowed to admit NEW evidence on appeal. An appeal simply reviews the lower court proceedings to see if the court made any mistakes that could have effected the outcome or your rights. So just be prepared to lose on appeal. However, if this was small claims (which is probably was), sometimes the appeal means you simply move it up to the next court, but essentially start over. So it will depend on how your court's are organized.

At this point, if I were you, I would step back and realize that time has value you to. Is the few hundred bucks you owe this guy, worth the time and hassle, especially when your odds of winning are now practically nil.

[catwhisperer]

To be fair, you did blow it.

This is what happens when people think they know what they are doing when they go to court, but don't. I am not being intentionally harsh, but any first year law student could have told you that you needed a mechanic in the court room to testify to the problems. The estimate is not admissible evidence without the testimony of the mechanic who gave it.

So don't get all conspiracy theory on the court when this was your mistake.

Also, you are generally not allowed to admit NEW evidence on appeal. An appeal simply reviews the lower court proceedings to see if the court made any mistakes that could have effected the outcome or your rights. So just be prepared to lose on appeal. However, if this was small claims (which is probably was), sometimes the appeal means you simply move it up to the next court, but essentially start over. So it will depend on how your court's are organized.

At this point, if I were you, I would step back and realize that time has value you to. Is the few hundred bucks you owe this guy, worth the time and hassle, especially when your odds of winning are now practically nil.

Time does have value but so does not letting bullys have their way with people. If we all just take our lumps, then he'll do it to another, and then another, etc. This guy overcharges, does lousy work, and I'm supposed to just take it. And, a few people here on the boards said to just take estimates in, no need for witnesses. We're going to try again, please just wish us well in seeking justice.