Consumer Law, Warranties Non Performance - small claims

[ramke]

I contracted with a small company to repair the top on my boat which had been damaged by vandalism. In their orginal quote they provided for 8 days of work. 8 days came and went and the work was not completed. Further they made several unilateral changes to what had been agreed to between us regarding the materials to be used and the actual style of the top. In discussions with one of their of their employees, in response to our threats of taking the boat elswhere, that employee made certain promises involving the adding of accessories, such as window screens and covers, to compensate for their errors and mistakes. We agreed and this was conveyed to the actual owner of the business by the employee. Some 8 weeks later the work was not yet fully completed but the boat needed to be preped for winter storage and we reluctantly paid the bill, since they refused to allow us to move the boat without paying, and based on further promises by the same employee to finish the work in 2 - 4 weeks. 6 months later we demanded that the top be returned to us and the employee stated he had just finished all the work. When we went to fit the new top we found a number of errors and a number of missing pieces. The owner is digging their heals in an while not refusing to do the work, delaying a firm commitment with excuse after excuse. They furtehr claim that the added work was not part of the orginal deal. I am considering a small claims action for the full amount to either have it redone elsewhere, or motivate them to get it resolved. Your input would be appreciated.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Small claims is the perfect place to get this matter resolved. You had a contract, they delivered substandard materials that were in breach of the contract, you had to pay in order to more easily facilitate the return of the boat, so your story does ring true with me. What you would likely want to do is organize your case very well to point out all the items where the company was in material breach, calculate the actual damages in addition to your need to take to the boat elsewhere and what it will cost to get the work done there and the loss of use. Make sure you have at least one and preferably 2 estimates if you choose this route. Good luck and let us know how things turn out!

PS -- it will be difficult to prove what was agreed as verbal compensation but that is not the point. The breach of contract is and you are better of with the cash and getting the work done properly this time around.

I contracted with a small company to repair the top on my boat which had been damaged by vandalism. In their orginal quote they provided for 8 days of work. 8 days came and went and the work was not completed. Further they made several unilateral changes to what had been agreed to between us regarding the materials to be used and the actual style of the top. In discussions with one of their of their employees, in response to our threats of taking the boat elswhere, that employee made certain promises involving the adding of accessories, such as window screens and covers, to compensate for their errors and mistakes. We agreed and this was conveyed to the actual owner of the business by the employee. Some 8 weeks later the work was not yet fully completed but the boat needed to be preped for winter storage and we reluctantly paid the bill, since they refused to allow us to move the boat without paying, and based on further promises by the same employee to finish the work in 2 - 4 weeks. 6 months later we demanded that the top be returned to us and the employee stated he had just finished all the work. When we went to fit the new top we found a number of errors and a number of missing pieces. The owner is digging their heals in an while not refusing to do the work, delaying a firm commitment with excuse after excuse. They furtehr claim that the added work was not part of the orginal deal. I am considering a small claims action for the full amount to either have it redone elsewhere, or motivate them to get it resolved. Your input would be appreciated.