Bleh....Sticky Situation

[XCAdam89]

So I've been having an FML moment lately and I need to vent. So here it goes. I've been trying to get my car repainted since about July, been looking around for the right people, getting reviews, etc. I landed a job at carmax over the summer and figured it would be my best bet (and cheapest) if I had one of the guys I worked with paint it. Thinking that I knew them on a personal level, they would do a better job and work with me on price as much as possible. What I wanted was simple, a few rust spots taken care of and a fresh coat of paint.

After asking around, there's 2-3 people who were recommended to do good work. One wanted around $700, the others closer to $2k. So naturally, being a poor college student, I decided to go with the more affordable option. After all, its not complex at all. The car is still super shiny, mainly just needs rust spots taken care of and blended in.

So. This was around September. He asked me to give him money for supplies, totaling around $500ish. Which was fine. I have no problem paying for stuff that needs to be bought in order to get the ball rolling. I got a handwritten receipt that he signed outlining the amount of payments and the date.

Now, over 2 months later. The dude is bs'ing like crazy and no longer works with me. I still have his ##, but he hasn't been answering my texts/calls in the past few days. I'm worried I'm getting ripped off and genuinely pissed that it has taken this long already. I wanted it done by october at the latest. I'm going to Europe the first part of december and want this taken care of.

My dad is ready to get the authorities involved if I dont hear anything back by tomorrow. Any suggestions? His dad works at rosner in town, so I'm going to try and talk to him tomorrow, but then I think the police is the only route to take. He has $450 of mine and I only have $200 in supplies. Somethings gotta give.

[CJM]

If you have left messages stating if you dont get a refund then you will involve the authorities and he hasnt gotten back to you, then its time to involve them.

What you have is theft of services. You paid him to do a job and gave him a downpayment in the form of cash for supplies. You have a written receipt so your in the clear.

Call the cops, it cant hurt.

[XCAdam89]

His voicemail box is full, but I've sent him numerous text messages and called a few times with no luck. I'm going to inform his dad tomorrow, then go from there. The cops are the next option though, for sure.

I'm not the kind of person to call the cops and try to sue people. I just want the job done. For me, it comes down to is he going to do it, or not. If he does, I have no problem paying for it. If not, I deserve what was rightfully mine to begin with. Just proves to me how hard it is to find trustworthy people anymore... its rediculous.

My only concern is that the reciept I have is a few bucks short of what I paid him, but only off by $50 or so. Im not sure how they work with those sorts of things, but I feel that if I can get him to admit to the majority, the rest is easy.

[quad2xtreme]

skip the cops and just go file paperwork for small claims court.

[XCAdam89]

^^^ That's an option as well. This is the first time something like this has happened to me, so I'm trying to lay out all the possible ways to go about this.

Is there any crazy fee's involved going the small claims court route??

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by XCAdam89
^^^ That's an option as well. This is the first time something like this has happened to me, so I'm trying to lay out all the possible ways to go about this.

Is there any crazy fee's involved going the small claims court route??

I would call the Police first... I am a Criminal Justice Student and will be starting Police Academy next summer. The way i see it, is that you are paying for there salaries in taxes so why not use there service, afterall its free anyway.

[quad2xtreme]

small claims court is generally about $25 to file.

Don't know much about what the police can do in a case like this. You can take him to small claims and explain the situation to a judge. You will likely get a judgment against him which is just an official IOU. You can ask for wage garnishment. Most likely, everyone is going to tell you that you learned a valuable lesson and don't make the same mistake again. I know this is big bucks to you but it is peanuts in the system.

[XCAdam89]

Originally posted by quad2xtreme
small claims court is generally about $25 to file.

Don't know much about what the police can do in a case like this. You can take him to small claims and explain the situation to a judge. You will likely get a judgment against him which is just an official IOU. You can ask for wage garnishment. Most likely, everyone is going to tell you that you learned a valuable lesson and don't make the same mistake again. I know this is big bucks to you but it is peanuts in the system.

Very true. His dad was super cool and didn't even know what was going on. Apparently, his parents just got a divorce and he's been acting up a ton lately. His dad took my name and number down and said he'd get in touch with him this weekend and give me a call back today or tomorrow, so hopefully its just a simple return of funds and nothing more. I'd really like to keep this out of court...its a waste of my time and his.

[usp4u]

Dude, for future reference....Getting a bottom of the barrel repaint on a car with no damage whatsoever is a $3k-$4k event on a good day. You have some rust=min $5500 deal.

You're getting exactly what you paid for so far.:ermm:

[fasterblaster09]

around here there are guys in the back of town that'll do it for 550-700. Not a top notch shop but a damn good paintjob

[trx310R#24]

the authorities? ha break that d-bags freakin legs. :devil: youll get your money;)

[XCAdam89]

Originally posted by usp4u
Dude, for future reference....Getting a bottom of the barrel repaint on a car with no damage whatsoever is a $3k-$4k event on a good day. You have some rust=min $5500 deal.

You're getting exactly what you paid for so far.:ermm:

I tend to disagree. First off, I'm not looking for a show car job. It's a honda. It's my daily driver. Why would I pay $5500 for paint on a car that costs a little over $4k??

Second, I know numerous people who have painted hundreds of show cars and they quoted me a few hundred bucks less than $2k. Rust, supplies and all.

That's completely irrelevant. My point is that when I pay for a service, I expect to get it.

[madsmokey12]

Originally posted by XCAdam89
I tend to disagree. First off, I'm not looking for a show car job. It's a honda. It's my daily driver. Why would I pay $5500 for paint on a car that costs a little over $4k??

Second, I know numerous people who have painted hundreds of show cars and they quoted me a few hundred bucks less than $2k. Rust, supplies and all.

That's completely irrelevant. My point is that when I pay for a service, I expect to get it.


i agree theres alot of Crooks out there now. i tried to Sell a Gaming account got an offer for $800 and took it the guy put the money in my paypal Account so i hand over the account next morning i get a Email Saying that the Guy is Trying to his money back. and i was Angry i called paypal and they said that there was nothing i could do about it .i have Emails all the proof that the guy agreed to buy the account and every thing that was there that i sold him. lucky i got my account back but still. i found out theres alot of Scumbag scammers out there so you better be on top of your game. I hope you get your money baack man let me know how u make out

[trx310R#24]

Originally posted by madsmokey12
i agree theres alot of Crooks out there now. i tried to Sell a Gaming account got an offer for $800 and took it the guy put the money in my paypal Account so i hand over the account next morning i get a Email Saying that the Guy is Trying to his money back. and i was Angry i called paypal and they said that there was nothing i could do about it .i have Emails all the proof that the guy agreed to buy the account and every thing that was there that i sold him. lucky i got my account back but still. i found out theres alot of Scumbag scammers out there so you better be on top of your game. I hope you get your money baack man let me know how u make out


your selling a "gaming account" for $800? what game?

[madsmokey12]

lol world of warcraft i don't even play it any more.so it's just been sittting there so i thought i should sell it and someone offered me $800 lol so why not. i seen accounts go for over $1000.

[trx310R#24]

Originally posted by madsmokey12
lol world of warcraft i don't even play it any more.so it's just been sittting there so i thought i should sell it and someone offered me $800 lol so why not. i seen accounts go for over $1000.

dude thats crazy i used to play this game sea fight its like a pirate game im going to try and sell that account lmao

[madsmokey12]

yea it's crazy i would be happy to get $500 lol more money for the YFZ

[CJM]

Originally posted by XCAdam89
I tend to disagree. First off, I'm not looking for a show car job. It's a honda. It's my daily driver. Why would I pay $5500 for paint on a car that costs a little over $4k??

Second, I know numerous people who have painted hundreds of show cars and they quoted me a few hundred bucks less than $2k. Rust, supplies and all.

That's completely irrelevant. My point is that when I pay for a service, I expect to get it.

Maybe if you pay a shop to do it. Guess how much I could repaint my car for? If I wanted the really good paint, and did like 5 coats and 5 coats of clear and I bought primer, filler, supplies etc and assuming I have a gun and compressor-500 bucks easy.

Now paying someone to do all that, on the side and not at a shop-1-2k depending on what needs to be done.

paying a shop to professionally paint it, 2-4k depending on what you want.

[usp4u]

Originally posted by CJM
Maybe if you pay a shop to do it. Guess how much I could repaint my car for? If I wanted the really good paint, and did like 5 coats and 5 coats of clear and I bought primer, filler, supplies etc and assuming I have a gun and compressor-500 bucks easy.

Now paying someone to do all that, on the side and not at a shop-1-2k depending on what needs to be done.

paying a shop to professionally paint it, 2-4k depending on what you want.

Guys, I do this for a living...a $2K all-over refinish would be a s**tty job. You get what you pay for.

[CJM]

Originally posted by usp4u
Guys, I do this for a living...a $2K all-over refinish would be a s**tty job. You get what you pay for.

It depends on the paint you use. A friend of mine had his truck redone by a guy I know and it turned out fine. But he didnt have ppg paint or such used.

[XCAdam89]

Just an update on this situation.

I showed up at the guy's work by suprise after tracking him down by talking to his past jobs. He said he'd take care of it and pay me back, but keep in mind this was about two weeks ago now.

A few days ago, of the $500 he said he'd give me like 150ish and the rest was non-refundable booth rental he cannot get back. To me, this seems irrelevant, because if he never used the booth, there is no reason he can't get the money back.

Basically, he is now saying he wants to take the booth people to court (Which I think is just BS) and then he will pay me IF and ONLY if he gets that money back. So I'm going monday to finish filing my paperwork and take him anyways. The point of the matter is I paid him, I didn't pay the shop.

It's crazy guys. Gotta love some people.

[TheLane]

Good! you take that shister down (at work lol) keep us posted. and seriously. you should call the cops and file a police report.