Legal advice required, restorer not completing job
Discussion
Hi All,
I handed my 84 Mini over to someone about 4 years ago and he carried out 2300 pounds worth of restoration work on it and then stopped. He has been awnsering my calls but not completing the work that I continously have been asking him to do. I have all references of this in emails, invoices etc.
I found out the body man that was carrying out the work has since left and after I requested a flip front design on the shell, cut the shell incorrectly. This was told to me by the workshop head Mechanic and the owner keeps trying to get out of completing the task.
What do I do? I have gone to Trading standards and they said I have a case, but which sort of solicitor should I contact? Does anyone in this forum know anyone that could help?
Help!
Rob.
>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Tuesday 9th August 13:21
I handed my 84 Mini over to someone about 4 years ago and he carried out 2300 pounds worth of restoration work on it and then stopped. He has been awnsering my calls but not completing the work that I continously have been asking him to do. I have all references of this in emails, invoices etc.
I found out the body man that was carrying out the work has since left and after I requested a flip front design on the shell, cut the shell incorrectly. This was told to me by the workshop head Mechanic and the owner keeps trying to get out of completing the task.
What do I do? I have gone to Trading standards and they said I have a case, but which sort of solicitor should I contact? Does anyone in this forum know anyone that could help?
Help!
Rob.
>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Tuesday 9th August 13:21
Ok, called the brief, got lots of correspondence and will let you know how it goes, there really should be some sort of change in the law regarding how some restorers can take people for a ride and then when the going gets tough just put things on hold. Really anoyyed about this, this bloke is taking the mick through and through. Isnt the restorer supposed to contact the customer to advise him how things are going!!!
Is there any other cases that anyone has been in similar to this?
Might have to go on and call that 'Watchdog' programme and embarass him to the point that no one else will take their vehicles to him....
Is there any other cases that anyone has been in similar to this?
Might have to go on and call that 'Watchdog' programme and embarass him to the point that no one else will take their vehicles to him....
I found myself in a similar situation but from the other side.
I began a triumph gt6 project when i first started in business thinking i'd be really quiet for months until work took off. I was quiet for about a week, then was completely swamped by the workload on other things that paid proper money.
In the end the car got 3/4 finished (just trim and lighting / bumpers to restore and refit) but i still had no time to do it all properly. After three years since starting it I did a deal with the owner to give him his car back, plus a load of stuff FOC (triumphtune sports exhaust amongst other stuff) and gave him 1000 pounds towards the finishing costs. I also hadn't charged him any labour to that point 'cos i was so guilty about the time delay, and didn't charge any profit on the parts I'd used.
It ended up costing me thousands of pounds just having it stood around...
Some things just don't work out how you planned ...
I began a triumph gt6 project when i first started in business thinking i'd be really quiet for months until work took off. I was quiet for about a week, then was completely swamped by the workload on other things that paid proper money.
In the end the car got 3/4 finished (just trim and lighting / bumpers to restore and refit) but i still had no time to do it all properly. After three years since starting it I did a deal with the owner to give him his car back, plus a load of stuff FOC (triumphtune sports exhaust amongst other stuff) and gave him 1000 pounds towards the finishing costs. I also hadn't charged him any labour to that point 'cos i was so guilty about the time delay, and didn't charge any profit on the parts I'd used.
It ended up costing me thousands of pounds just having it stood around...
Some things just don't work out how you planned ...
Thats above and beyond the call, but fair play to you for doing that.
I would happily settle for the vehicle in its cuyrrent state to be sent back down to me from cambridge and the cost of the spares that I gave him to use to be refunded.
The stage that the car is at:
De-seamed
No running gear
no engine
Unsprayed
Means that if it does go down that road, I will need to hand it over to a third party for completion.
Bear in mind that all that has been done in 5 years is the vehicle de-seamed and prepped for spraying. Restorers de-seam minis all the time and build flip fronts all the time also. This is not a small outfit we are talking about here, this guy has been around for 15+ years and has specialised in Minis for 12+ years. I have visited his workshop units and the guy has 2 huge units with specialist equipment, ovens, 8 ramps etc. etc.
Its not that his work is rubbish, I have seen the work his company has done and seen his company working in progress. I had owned and sold a 67 Ford Mustang fastback in the time I was waiting for him to complete this task and he had rebuilt the gearbox and restored the rad for the Mustang in that time and the job was done perfectly.
Basically his bodyshop guy had screwed up the front end I think and to rectify the problems he has caused would not be an economical repair, the shell had hardly any rust on it at all, that is why I chose the car, I was a mechanic for 6 years so I know the lines used to palm people off and he has tried them all.
After talking to my brief, the costs are already going to cost me 140pounds to raise an official letter to this person, but I am hoping that this will give him the jolt that is required. The problem is that it may go the other way, he may become even more difficult, but other routes may have to be persued if this happens.
Honesty should have been the best policy here from the restorer...
I would happily settle for the vehicle in its cuyrrent state to be sent back down to me from cambridge and the cost of the spares that I gave him to use to be refunded.
The stage that the car is at:
De-seamed
No running gear
no engine
Unsprayed
Means that if it does go down that road, I will need to hand it over to a third party for completion.
Bear in mind that all that has been done in 5 years is the vehicle de-seamed and prepped for spraying. Restorers de-seam minis all the time and build flip fronts all the time also. This is not a small outfit we are talking about here, this guy has been around for 15+ years and has specialised in Minis for 12+ years. I have visited his workshop units and the guy has 2 huge units with specialist equipment, ovens, 8 ramps etc. etc.
Its not that his work is rubbish, I have seen the work his company has done and seen his company working in progress. I had owned and sold a 67 Ford Mustang fastback in the time I was waiting for him to complete this task and he had rebuilt the gearbox and restored the rad for the Mustang in that time and the job was done perfectly.
Basically his bodyshop guy had screwed up the front end I think and to rectify the problems he has caused would not be an economical repair, the shell had hardly any rust on it at all, that is why I chose the car, I was a mechanic for 6 years so I know the lines used to palm people off and he has tried them all.
After talking to my brief, the costs are already going to cost me 140pounds to raise an official letter to this person, but I am hoping that this will give him the jolt that is required. The problem is that it may go the other way, he may become even more difficult, but other routes may have to be persued if this happens.
Honesty should have been the best policy here from the restorer...
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