- Jurisdiction
- Tennessee
I paid a shop $5000 to do restoration work on my car. The owner went berserk and insisted that I get my car out of his shop. Regarding the deposit, he claims that he has already spent it on personal expenses and he has nothing to give me. The agreed-upon rate for the work was $50/hr and he refuses to work for less than $80/hr. Plus, he wants to bill for hours of work well over double the reasonable rate anywhere else for the same work. He claims that he has the money and will do whatever work he sees fit, regardless of my input. He admits to owing me the money but it's my tough luck because it is already spent. Is it considered theft to spend a deposit for a specific service toward his personal accounts and not doing the work? Is their a recourse besides small claims court? I've been through that another time and it has no teeth if the debtor chooses to just ignore it. Debtors are completely shielded from creditors that have a judgement.