Mechanics lien? - Ducati.ms

ducdude1098s · Oct 31st, 2011, 8:28 am

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ducdude1098s · Oct 31st, 2011, 8:44 am

What to do when a shop does un-authorized work?

Hello,
Please forgive the long post but this is a huge mess and I need the advice of others with more experience than I have...

Ok, here's the crazy situation.. Last year I returned to the USA for a short visit that turned into a job offer to "help out" a big name Ducati shop. After about 6 months helping out the owner asked me if I felt having him modify my bike from a 748S to an 855 would be a fair exchange for all the work I'd done for him and I agreed. When we started the mod's the first thing i found out was my clutch was going and so on his advice i bought an aftermarket upgrade from him. Then a few months later we parted ways because I really rubbed one grumpy old guy the wrong way especially as I grew closer to the owner and his family. long story short, I don't "help out" at the shop any more.
Now for my problem.. I knew i was going to get a bill for about $800 for the clutch but instead i get one for nearly $5,000.00! As I'm looking it over I see I'm getting charged for labor, parts, and even an entire exhaust system! When I ask what's going on I'm told it was necessary bcuz the original exhaust wasn't compatible with the new 855 kit.. cha ching $1,500.00 please... Now maybe I'm just a real idiot but shouldn't that have been explained up front and not after the whole project is completed? I didn't even get to choose the exhaust system either..
When I asked the owner about my bill I found out he didn't even prepare it.. guess who did? Yup, the guy who can't stand me and who I don't like either.. I asked the owner to look my bill over bcuz this wasn't the deal I had agreed on and had I known I was gonna get hit up for $5,000.00 I'd never have accepted his offer to modify my bike.
So months pass and finally i get another email from the grumpy old man and he's saying i either pay up or he's gonna have the owner hit me with a mechanics lien until i do! Now, I NEVER signed a work order or for anything at all for this upgrade and I was never told I had to pay for anything except the new clutch as it wasn't part of the 748 to 855 upgrade. I had worked over 600 hours in the warehouse and the shipping/receiving area and those hours were supposed to be an even trade for the upgrade. Can he really put a lien on my bike in a case like this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Talk about a tough lesson to learn..
Christian

1sicmofo · Oct 31st, 2011, 9:01 am

Best To Get a GOOD LAWYER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

romancommander · Oct 31st, 2011, 9:08 am

My first call would be to a Lawyer for advise.

If you:

1. Have no paperwork that can be construed as a contract
2. No signed quote from the shop roughly outlining the work to be performed
3. No emails outlining 1 or 2

Then chances are if things turn ugly (which sounds like they are) you'll end up in court eventually anyways.

Yes they can put a mechanics lien on your bike if you leave it at the shop. After the lien starts you have 30 days to respond. They can only charge you storage at a legally predefined max rate for the 30 days of the lien, plus any agreed upon (on paper) work.

After I talked to the lawyer I would very carefully sit down with a face to face conversation with the owner, use caution cause this is where a steady temper and choosing your words wisely goes a long way.

Good luck.

TOP_DUC · Oct 31st, 2011, 9:15 am

Why two threads on the same topic with the same OP and post content? Sounds like you're gonna get screwed out of your time "helping" out at the shop, whatever that means.

ducdude1098s · Oct 31st, 2011, 9:17 am

Yeah, I'm afraid so.. I've been online researching this all weekend and from what I've found so far the dealership doesn't have a strong case but the fact that they are such a big name in the Ducati world kinda scares me a bit. Worst of all though, the owner has been a living hero in my eyes for as long as I've know about Ducati's and even worse.. someone I call a dear friend and look up to. :-(

ducdude1098s · Oct 31st, 2011, 9:22 am

Sorry about the two threads thing. Newbie here and I didn't know the first one actually got posted..

As for "helping out" goes, I was working under the table I guess you'd say.. At first I was just helping him out for a few days while he looked for a new person to take over full-time in his parts/shipping department and warehouse in exchange for some winter storage of my two bikes. Then 6+ months later he suggested doing the 855 upgrade to my 748 in exchange for all the unpaid hours I'd done for him..

ducdude1098s · Oct 31st, 2011, 9:33 am

Thanks for the advice.. much appreciated. I'm going through all my old emails and even phone texts with him but so far the only thing we've put in email/text form is me agreeing to let him "give" me an 855 upgrade to make up for the over 600 hours i've helped him out at his shop. There's no mention of me having to pay for anything except a new clutch as he said my old one wouldn't be strong enough to handle the modified engine power.. I signed nothing, never authorized or chose for him to put a new full exhaust system on my bike(I still don't even know what kind he put on it) and so in my eyes yes, I owe him for my new clutch with my employee discount and thats it.. Of course had I realized i'd already worked over 640 hours at his shop at that point I may have even asked if he'd throw in the clutch too.. lol..

TOP_DUC · Oct 31st, 2011, 10:07 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ducdude1098s

Sorry about the two threads thing. Newbie here and I didn't know the first one actually got posted..

As for "helping out" goes, I was working under the table I guess you'd say.. At first I was just helping him out for a few days while he looked for a new person to take over full-time in his parts/shipping department and warehouse in exchange for some winter storage of my two bikes. Then 6+ months later he suggested doing the 855 upgrade to my 748 in exchange for all the unpaid hours I'd done for him..

Whoa! Sounds like you need to speak directly to the owner exclusively and do not talk to the other guy at all. Is the bad guy the General Manager who can operate without the owner's specific approval? If so, you may have a tough road unless the owner dude steps in to "fix" it.

ducdude1098s · Oct 31st, 2011, 10:19 am

The "bad guy" or as the rest of the shop calls him.. "Grumpy Smurf" (among other things... lol..) is one of the managers but the thing is.. This was a deal struck between me and the owner himself. I guess this is what really caught me off guard bcuz there was nothing to be lost in translation here and now all of a sudden the other guy is trying to muscle his way into this situation and really stick it to me.. For that reason I've been trying to keep all contact with the shop in email or text message form and luckily I do have quite a few emails that pretty clearly back me up. For now though I'm doing my best to hold my tongue and not be disrespectful in hopes of not destroying whats left of my friendship with the owner but the more I look at this the less I think this will be possible in the end. Bummer.. Do you know any good lawyers to talk to for this kinda thing? I'm gonna give it a day or two more and see what happens next then I guess I'll make some calls to some of the Disabled Veteran's Groups that I'm a member of and see if any of their lawyers will represent me pro-bono. Being both a newly-wed with a baby on the way doesn't leave a lot of spare cash for lawyers right now..