Dealing with a shop losing your items what to due?

JOCCO

Well-known Member
Pretty much as the title says: how many of you have had to deal with it and how? I been lucky I guess but here are a few I have seen Starter shop closed and guy could not get costly starter back. Lawn mower, chainsaw scraped for parts or given to a different customer!!!! Items taken to machine shop were lost. Items turned in for warrantee (snap on craftsman) were not replaced and lost. SO LETS HEAR YOUR STORIES.
 
Right now I'm just dealing with UPS loosing something. I called the new Agco dealer yesterday for a seal kit for a marker cylinder on the planter. I told them to just get it in this morning and I'd come and get it. They said the shipping wouldn't be all that much,they could have it to me UPS this morning if I wanted them to. They held up their end. The truck drove in this morning. Either a new driver or a sub,he wasn't out regular driver. He couldn't find it on the truck. He said he'd text the driver of he truck that he transferred from and see if it was on that truck. Claimed he'll find it and be back later today. That's not much help to me right now.
 
took SIL brand new mower to local lawnmower repair guy for carb work. he called SIL and told her engine was blown. she told him to scrap it. he then replaced float and sold for almost new price. mower ran for about 5 minutes then flooded itself.
 
If ups loses item they will pay for it. Broken and they will claim bad packaging no pay.
 
I would have gladly driven to the dealer to get it if I had known this would happen. It's not all that far to the new dealership.

Things that make you go GRRRRRRR!!
 
My FIL took 2 outboard motors in for tune ups. When he went back to get them they told him the one was junk and they had in fact tossed it in their scrap pile. He paid for the other and picked up the "junk" one. Couple of days later he complained to me that the one that they had tuned up wasn't running right. So I checked it our for him. 1. the flywheel was cracked. Looked like someone had tried prying it off instead of using a puller. Fresh marks. 2. points (2 sets) were supposed to be .018. One was .015 and the other .023. 3. one coil pack was weak. After I fixed all of that and adjusted the carbs it ran perfect. The other one I cleaned an gapped the point and it to ran out good.

Rick
 
Sold a rather expensive Hermes English saddle on Ebay to a guy in Virginia. After a few weeks I asked if he got it and he said no. UPS "lost" it and couldn't find a trace. We were ready to file an insurance claim. Buyer really wanted the saddle more badly than the money. By freak chance one of the managers noticed a box with a destroyed label but could make out my wife's name. He knew her personally from all the business her company does with them. Called her and they made out a new label. Guy got his saddle a month late but he wasn't POed, just happy to get it.
 
My grandmother had her mantle clock cleaned. It had come over with her grandmother from Germany. The jeweler "lost it". They replaced it with a nice Seth Thomas mantle clock. I'm sure they made a pretty penny selling our family heirloom. We didn't know about it for a good six months. What are you going to do about it then?
 
I took the head off my diesel tractor to a repair shop in Iowa. they were going to weld some cracks, do the valves etc. I was told to leave all the studs in the head. Yep they lost them, they removed the energy cells with a punch and big hammer destroying 1/2 of them. They surfaced the head. When I got it back The bolt holes were full of welding slag. I took it back to them 3 times. The last time I got it back it came with a piece of cardboard bolted across the bottom of it. I never thought to remove it before I left with it. When we took the cardboard off, one of their guys had run a grinder across the length of the head. They did replace the energy cells with some used ones that we had to surface to fit. They replaced the studs with some used ones that we had to cut off because they were too long. The special oil line fittings I had to buy new. they never did find them. I found a place a lot closer to home that does heads, they ran it thru their machine and cleaned up the surface for me.
 
Had UPS loose a part that a customer needed desperately.

We had rush made the part, sent it to neat treat, they sent it back. When the package came the i***t secretary signed for a mangled empty box!

I called the local UPS center, even called an employee there that I knew. Asked if they would tell the driver to look in his truck, see if the part was in there...

NOPE, not going to look! Was informed that anything not delivered would be boxed up and sent to Utah once a month, called it "corporate overage". It would remain there for a period of time then be disposed of if unclaimed.

So, it would be at least a month before anyone would even look for it! Since it was signed for, it was considered delivered.

We had to start over, make another part, we lost money on that deal, the customer was thrown behind, UPS came out a winner!
 
First off, if you drop anything off at a repair shop, GET A RECEIPT!

That doesn't cover them lying to you about the condition of the item to convince you to scrap it, so they can turn around and sell it themselves, but at least they can't lie and say you never dropped it off.

After that, SMALL CLAIMS COURT. You may not get your item back or even get reimbursed, but they will have a judgement against them.

On the UPS side, it is the SHIPPER that has to follow up with UPS for damaged/lost items. When you get a mangled box, contact the shipper. The insurance is in their name. You have no right to make a claim.

If you are the shipper and didn't insure the shipment, that's your fault and you just need to suck it up and make it right with your customer. Chalk it up as the cost of doing business.
 
About 15 years ago I took a Stihl chain saw that I had had for years in for a tune up to a well established local dealer. Went back to get it and they said the cylinder was scored. I asked for it and they said it was out back in the scrap pile. They went and dug it out and I took it home. I put it back together, tuned it up and it is the best saw I have to this day. I do my own work now on small motors.
 
Had a DurocxHamp boar that I bred a Land Race sow with. Her pigs were going to be the 'meat' hogs for family and friends. I kept the best 6 piglets and raised them.

I only fed them high protein diet and finished them off on corn. Took them to 600 lbs. each and delivered them to Butcher for processing. Week later, Butcher called and said meat is ready. Way short in the poundage of meat that I knew should be there. Not only was I shorted meat but there were only 11 hams plus a wally world vacuum packed ham included in the boxes of meat

I called the butcher and asked about the wally world ham. His reply was....'When we butchered one hog her ham was full of abcesses and we tossed it. I felt bad for you losing that ham and went out and got one for you to replace the spoiled ham'.

Ya right!
 
When the package came the i***t secretary signed for a mangled empty box!

And that is UPS's fault?

Put the shoe on the other foot for a minute.
UPS has a signed recite saying they delivered the box in good shape;
And only your word; after the fact; that it was damaged.
For all they know the secretary dropped the box in the hallway and broke the item.
 
Let me throw a little flip on this. I have been in business for close to 40 years. What about people that bring stuff in to be repaired and never come back to get it? If I sell it, scrap it or otherwise dispose of it and they come back to get it in 2 years, five years or ten years and I don't have it, my hind end will be in court. How darn long am I suppose to store it, baby- sit it for them free of charge.I have a nice Honda generator, a 450 JD dozer, a bobcat skid steer loader, a new holland manure spreader. A couple of rotary cutters and a bunch of small items that have been here for years. I don't even know the names of the people they belong to or how to contact them.
 
50 years ago when I was a little guy I remember my dad always complaining about beef cattle sent in for butchering and never getting our own beef back. He would grain feed our beef but the meat we got back was anything but. Tried several different butchers and finally found who didn't sell retail. The problem then stopped. Used this guy for years until he retired. Dad got out of the beef business then.
 
Yes on this order, my friend's Still chainsaw / other small engine business a few years ago started to charge upfront for sharpening chains. Hadn't done that before, he explained how many "unclaimed chains" he had on the shelf. This way he is not out the time/money. joe
 
Hi, many years ago I took a chain saw to a rental shop to get a tune up. Some days later I went back for it and they told me one of my employees already picked it up. I knew that was bs. A week later I was working at a shake and shingle mill with my backhoe. I noticed a worker there cutting some log with my saw. He said they got it on rent from the rental shop.I took it out of his hand and put it in my truck. The rental place sent me a repair bill, I sent them a rental bill. Later he tried to run me over with his pickup. I was fair po'd. Ed Will Oliver BC
 
Not necessarily.

I once received a punch bowl that was broken in the carton. Seller replaced it and UPS reimbursed the seller.
 
20 to 30 years ago when I was routinely rebuilding engines, mostly Chevies, both big and small block V8's, I had two issues with a NAPA machine shop. I started going there because it was handy.

One time I sent a crankshaft from an SBC to have it ground. I had the engine built up to the point of putting the harmonic balancer bolt in. It wouldn't go into the end of the crankshaft. I found a broken off bolt in the end of the crank. I'd personally disassembled the engine, including removing the harmonic balancer, before I took the crank in. I tore the engine back down and took the crank back. Naturally he didn't have my own anymore, but he had to give me a good crank.

Another time, I took a block to be bored. There again I'd personally disassembled the engine. It had been running before I tore it down, but was just plain tired. When I got the block back and installed the crankshaft, when I torqued one of the center mains the crank locked up. Then I could see discoloration be the main where it had overheated for some reason. I took the block back and the guy swore up and down it was that way when I brought it in. I wound up having to pay him $70 to align bore the block. I never went back.

I think what he was doing was keeping all the choice parts for his buddies and dumping their junk onto customers.

I had a nasty conversation with the franchise owner, but I never went back so I don't know if anything changed.

On another note, I was once working on a Mercruiser outdrive that had a ball bearing seized and spun. The part number on the bearing was partly obliterated. I took it to a franchise bearing store and a scroungy twerp on the counter with a cigar stuck in his face took one look and said, "It would be a g** d***** waste of time to even try to match it. I walked out and went to a different bearing place. The man on the counter looked at the bearing, took a caliper out of his shirt pocket, took a couple of measurements, reached on the shelf and handed me a new bearing.

I was fried. I went back to the first store and had a confrontation with the manager. In the following weeks, I had to visit that store several times on my full time job, and I never saw that twerp with the cigar on the counter again. Maybe there is justice.
 
I had a car stolen from my drive way. It was a 78 buick regal Three months later a towing co. calls me. We have your car, it's missing the motor. I showed up at the yard, and wanted to see my car to see if it was salvageable. well they couldn't find it. Then all of a sudden it shows up running at the office. I paid a couple days storage and drove it home. Someone heated the coil springs to lower the car. I was right in style drive through east San Diego on my way home. Stan
 
Heck I had a friend whose fairly new car was in dealership for checkup. Dear declared bankruptcy and everything was tied up in court for over a year.
 
I will talk about the trouble from the other side. I have seen equipment set for years on dealers lots or sheds because customers can't pay the repair bill or decide not to repair the equipment after find out the total cost. The dealer has money tied up in some thing that is many times not worth what is owed against it.

Then after I retired from daily dealership activities I did more repairs in my shop. I soon had some trouble projects. Items that were done and the owner could not pay the bill or the items was beyond repair after I had labor/time/effort in finding out what repairs were needed.

So here is how I handled that issue:

1) Big jobs have the parts PAID for before the first one is ordered.

2) After an item is done the customer has 90 days to pay me for the work WHILE I still have the equipment.

3) After 90 days I start a mechanic's lean on the equipment. I have had lien holders PAY me so they can get a clear ownership of a repair item.


Now the funny part!!! All of this goes out the window with people I KNOW real well. So I have some money owed me form some fellows but I not sweating it. I also usually just write off anything owed me from someone that dies. I feel the family should not be bothered. Kind of like marriage to death do we part. LOL So hurry up an get some thing repaired and then DIE ,it FREE!!! LOL I am not sure how you will get much good out of the deal but who knows.


All in all it is amazing how much we have to trust each other in this world. You drop off some thing to be repaired trusting the shop to do it. The shop repairs the item trusting you to pay for the work or at least come back.

Here is one to think about!! Driving down the road at highway speeds you are trusting every single driver you meet to stay on their side of the road and avoid hitting you. Kind of blows your mind does it not????
 
Can't say I've had anything lost in a shop. I've had 4 things lost in the mail.

Right now I have a Deere 620 sitting in the yard since last Nov. The bill owed to me is $640.00
I also have a Wheel Horse lawn tractor since 2014 owner never came back.
 
I took a Remington .22 pump rifle to a dealer to have some work done on it. A few months passed and I hadn't heard from him. I waited a little longer to call him to see if he had worked on it yet, then I saw his business listed for a closing auction. My gun was one of the guns listed on the auction so I called hm and got my gun back before the auction. He was real apologetic about it but darn, I almost lost a really good gun.
 
A 24" computer monitor with HDTV tuner that cost me around $500 when flat screens were almost new. Took it for service, & didn't hear back at all. Finally after about 90 days stopped in to ask about it. found out the service tech took it to his personal home, & then got arrested for child pornography. Police confiscated everything electronic from the home including the monitor. Never got it back, never got compensated, & the owner was forced to file bankruptsy & close due to a major lack of return customers. An almost 80% loss according to local news. Felt sorry for the owner... His employee "WAS" married with 2 children, & no criminal record. He loaded inappropriate material on a customers computer, & didn't erase it. Customer was a Police officer!!! I had bought a new monitor before I sent that one in, & so I just ate the loss. Criminal got 8 years + listed on offender registry, & is still in jail at last count!
 
A few years ago I bought two JD NU bottoms from a really nice fellow on here. Since plow parts are kind of awkward/heavy he brought them to a packing/shipping place and had everything boxed up (disassembled).

A few days later I got a big box that had 1 frog, 2 moldboards, 1 share and some misc bolts.

The packing/shipper was baffled, he said everything was wrapped up and packed very well in a heavy duty box. The box the stuff came to me in wasn't even the original box.

I guess UPS blew up the box, lost most of the parts but somehow knew that what was left needed to be sent to me so they threw them in another box and sent it on it's way.

I felt bad for the seller, he seemed like a really nice guy who went out of his way to get me the bottoms at a very reasonable price. I got the feeling he was discouraged by the whole situation (I don't blame him).

I never paid for what I got and as far as I know everything was settled with UPS on his end (I provided the shipping place a bunch of pictures and info). I pieced the bottoms together with parts from another supplier and the cost was roughly the same in the end so I guess it worked out for everyone. Just one big PITA.

K
 
I bought a repair manual from ebay in 2010. It never showed up. USPS showed it was shipped from Ohio and arrived in Houston. Houston post office had no record, couldn't find it. Seller put in a claim and refunded my money, and it was forgotten. About 6 months ago, it showed up in the mail, original packaging and post mark, no explanation as to where it has been for 6 years.
 
Got a used 555b Ford backhoe around 95 or 96. Couldn't road it but a few miles and the brakes would lock up so bad it wouldn't move. Dealer took it in and tore it apart, mechanic told us he was putting it all back together there was nothing wrong with the brake parts. Stood there and argued with dad about replacing them.

Uncle walked out of the shop and came back with an owner. He charged the mechanic for the parts cost. May have been the last machine he worked on there, too.
Another NH dealer told us the reason we were breaking the booms and busting pins out of the L465 loader frame is we were abusing it. Grandpa made a loop through another NH dealer lot one day and there were piles of L465 booms out back.
They told him yeah, they were recalled, if we've got one with black booms they'd order us a set. The replacements were grey. Never had to weld on it again once we got them installed.
 
(quoted from post at 18:02:35 05/27/16) Let me throw a little flip on this. I have been in business for close to 40 years. What about people that bring stuff in to be repaired and never come back to get it? If I sell it, scrap it or otherwise dispose of it and they come back to get it in 2 years, five years or ten years and I don't have it, my hind end will be in court. How darn long am I suppose to store it, baby- sit it for them free of charge.

Talk to a local lawyer first , but around here the company places an ad in the local news paper that items A,B, & C will be auctioned off it charges are not paid in full by X date .

I would say if you have had no contact in over a year it is fair . I would also advise people to get some customer info , description of work , etc in writing , not that I always do . Of course when I get through with a job and someone owes me money they get as many phone calls as needed until we set up a date to pick up the work and I get paid .
 
I have pondered this issue for years. 3 to 4 feet between on coming cars and you!!
I think two-way roads should be only one-way, every other parallel road alternates direction. ? ? ? ?
 

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