Repair Risks
I have a boat neigbor that has a repair gone bad, very
bad. It makes me wonder what he should have done.
He needed his exhaust/water injector elbows replaced.
He hired a mechanic that said he'd do the work,
wouldn't charge mileage (his shop is 50 miles away),
and that he'd do the work for a given hourly rate.
All of this was done verbally (probably the material
problem).
After removing the exhaust elbows and sending them out
for repair the mechanic increased his hourly rate by
$10/hr and said he have to charge mileage with the
increased fuel prices. He now had the boat own
hostage.
Over the course of 16 months, yes 16 months, the
mechanic returned many times with remanufactured
elbows that were the wrong angle and then the wrong
size for the hose, and on and on.
Last week with one elbow installed and the other not
even on the boat, the mechanic demanded payment before
completing the shop. He also stated that he had less
than 8 hours of work left to complete the job. The
boat owner refused payment stating with only 8 hours
of work left he'd pay upon completion of the job.
The mechanic must not have been supportive of being
paid at the completion of the job as he came on the
boat when the owners was away and removed the one
installed elbow and then notified the owner that he'd
incur a daily storage fee for the parts and that work
would not resume until he was paid.
The boat owner had an attorney send a letter demanding
the return of the boat owner's property, the elbows
and related parts. The mechanic has not acknowledged
the letter nor returned the parts by the date
specified by the attorney.
I suspect without a repair contract the owner is
screwed. Does the owner have any recourse? Is he at
risk of having the mechanic placing a lien against his
boat?
I personally can relate to the problem of not having a
written estimate even though the work was perfromed
from what is suppose to be a reputable yard.
Gil
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The guy did everything wrong. When hiring anyone, for your boat, home or
auto, one should get references, check them out...in person if possible of
past work. Have an upfront written agreement stating the scope of work and
the payment schedule. Is he licensed and insured?, get proof. A time
stated, allowing some excess as a completion date...in writing if possible.
Letting that go on a month was too long....16 months is ridiculous.
I'm sure there is more others would like to have to feel safe...such as
checking with the BBB. Now you should feel relatively safe to
proceed...problem is that the risk of you getting a bad job or losing money
and time is still there. The guy you are dealing with is human and even
though his intentions might have been good at the time, who knows his
financial condition?, will he give priority to the job with the most money?,
will he have enough money of his own to complete the job?, is he over
booked?, will his wife need medical treatment that eats into his operating
fund?, will his kid get arrested on drug charges?, .....get the idea?
Unless you are dealing with a large yard with a solid reputation, you are at
risk. Marine contractors are no different than residential contractors and
most are operating out of the back of a vehicle and living from week to
week. If you deal with one of these guys, you must check references and at
least do the above. Having a shop could mean his garage or a $200. a month
shed somewhere...did he go there to see who he was dealing with...probably
no because it was too far.
Point is, if you roll the dice and choose to go "budget" you are as
responsible for the outcome as the contractor...in my estimation. He will
probably never collect anything because the guy is probably late on his rent
and car payment anyway. If he was referred from a reputable yard, then ask
the yard for help. If the yard is connected in the deal, then demand they
complete the job or file a small claims suit.....or just get someone else
and chalk it up as a bad experience and move on.
I am a res/comm general contractor and over 36 years of being in business,
I have seen this happen over and over again. Usually due to the reasons I
said above. The homeowner chose a contractor without checking references
because they wanted it done in a hurry and cheap. I have completed many of
those jobs that were abandoned after the contractor took the advanced money
and disappeared.
Who is at fault...both as far as I am concerned.
Pretty much a crap shoot anyway.........
Bob Clinkenbeard
24' custom trailer trawler
http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-aboardbobbinalong
I have a boat neigbor that has a repair gone bad, very
bad. It makes me wonder what he should have done.
He needed his exhaust/water injector elbows replaced.
He hired a mechanic that said he'd do the work,
wouldn't charge mileage (his shop is 50 miles away),
and that he'd do the work for a given hourly rate.
All of this was done verbally (probably the material
problem).
After removing the exhaust elbows and sending them out
for repair the mechanic increased his hourly rate by
$10/hr and said he have to charge mileage with the
increased fuel prices. He now had the boat own
hostage.
Over the course of 16 months, yes 16 months, the
mechanic returned many times with remanufactured
elbows that were the wrong angle and then the wrong
size for the hose, and on and on.
Last week with one elbow installed and the other not
even on the boat, the mechanic demanded payment before
completing the shop. He also stated that he had less
than 8 hours of work left to complete the job. The
boat owner refused payment stating with only 8 hours
of work left he'd pay upon completion of the job.
The mechanic must not have been supportive of being
paid at the completion of the job as he came on the
boat when the owners was away and removed the one
installed elbow and then notified the owner that he'd
incur a daily storage fee for the parts and that work
would not resume until he was paid.
The boat owner had an attorney send a letter demanding
the return of the boat owner's property, the elbows
and related parts. The mechanic has not acknowledged
the letter nor returned the parts by the date
specified by the attorney.
I suspect without a repair contract the owner is
screwed. Does the owner have any recourse? Is he at
risk of having the mechanic placing a lien against his
boat?
I personally can relate to the problem of not having a
written estimate even though the work was perfromed
from what is suppose to be a reputable yard.
Gil
Gil et al. Now not being totally conversant with US civil and criminal law take this with a grain of salt.
A) the converse is also true. How does the mechanic prove to any court what his wage was, what his hours were. It was all verbal. A case of he said, she said. So, he has the same problem that your friend does.
B) in Alberta, the mechanic's lien is only in effect (it comes on automatically when the work is done) when the vehicle (not sure if it applies to boats or not but lets say it does) is in the mechanic's possession, ie at his garage AND remains in his possession. If he lets the owner have it back there the lien is discharged. In this case the mechanic came to there so no automatic lien. The mechanic will have to go to the courts and get a judgement against your friend.
C) if B holds true and he does not have a judgement against the owner, then the mechanic stole the elbow which was installed and also has stolen the original parts. What does your friend's attourney have to say about pursuing it criminally?
D) I would think that if the mechanic went for a judgement your friend would have to have been notified that either
i) there was a court action pending so he could prepare to defend himself or
ii) if no notice is required, he would have to be notified that there was a judgement made against him
and finally
E) I could be totally out to lunch on this. (Ok, people hold the snickers)
Rob Z
Snip, snip, snip. OUCH cut myself with the scissors!
All of this was done verbally (probably the material
problem).
Last week with one elbow installed and the other not
even on the boat, the mechanic demanded payment before
completing the shop. He also stated that he had less
than 8 hours of work left to complete the job. The
boat owner refused payment stating with only 8 hours
of work left he'd pay upon completion of the job.
Snip, snip, snip,
I suspect without a repair contract the owner is
screwed. Does the owner have any recourse? Is he at
risk of having the mechanic placing a lien against his
boat?
Who every coined the saying that "You can have it either cheap, fast or
good. Pick two!" was right.
John Blackburn