How long do you give a customer to pickup a repair?

[stevieb]

I have a customer who has been giving me the runaround on picking up their tablet I fixed. We have setup two meet times and they have not showed up. I do repairs on the side in my spare time. I used to have a small sheet with some lines about not being responsible for (fill in the blank) and about picking up the repair when it was done or it would be sold. I've gotten slack when it comes to paperwork and did not have her sign one. I gave her the ultimatum to pickup by this Sunday or it's getting sold to get my money back. She at first says ok. Then calls me today (Saturday) to say she spoke with her lawyer (on a holiday weekend, yeah right!) and since I didn't give her a "last date" to get this item when she dropped it off, that I can't sell or she's going to sue. Now, this was dropped off on July 17th and the repair was done by July 27th! Does anyone know what the "rules" are? I know they probably very from state to state, but I can't seem to find them anywhere online. What category would it fall under? I see plenty about car repair stuff, but nothing on electronics. Am I screwed? Do I hold on to this forever?!?

*I looked up her address online and am sending a certified letter, but chances are, she'll never accept it in the mail. I downloaded an app to record the phone conversations and am stating as such at the beginning of each call.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[callthatgirl]

What does she owe you?

 

[nlinecomputers]

Now you know why you should keep your paperwork. She is bluffing. If she had money to sue you she'd have money to pay. But if you had a signed workorder you could SUE HER for the money owed.

Stick it on ebay and send her the link. She wants it back she can pay her bill which will be the same as the buy it now price.

As for the legal term you are looking for it is abandoned property. Under Texas Law you have to keep it forever.

 

[stevieb]

It's only $45, resolder loose DC jack.

I thought the same thing about bluffing. I even commented to her that it must be nice to have a lawyer on call on a holiday weekend!

I can't find anything about abandoned property in sc. Most everything I found had to do with money like back pay or security deposits.

 

[SOHOtechRob]

You're bitching about $45? Just stick in a drawer with all your paperwork/notes/etc and wait until she calls. Give it a few months. It's not like it's taking up a lot of your space.

http://www.bizfilings.com/toolkit/s.../south-carolina-unclaimed-property-rules.aspx suggests that you need to hold on to it for AT LEAST 1 year. There are lots of mentions of $50+ value - I'm not sure how that relates to your case.

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t27c018.php may give relevant info, too.

 

[madcow007]

I have 30 days on my drop off forum that requires signature. I have never had to enforce it and I'm unsure if I could legally do so in SC so I should probably do a little research just so I know where I stand if the situation should ever arise.

 

[lan101]

yeah i say just throw it in the drawer. if you dont hear from her in 6 months...do whatever you want with it.

 

[sapphirescales]

This doesn't happen to use very often, but when it does we make MANY attempts to contact the client and get everything settled. We let them make payments if lack of funds is the issue. They must pay at least 10% of the total repair each month or we toss it. So a $400 repair would be $40/month for 10 months. Usually though the only time clients leave stuff with us is when it isn't worth repairing. We email them a form to sign that states that they're surrendering the computer to us and it's done.

 

[SAFCasper]

As part of our terms & conditions we can implement a "storage fee" of £0.50 per day if the device has not been collected 30 days after repair completion. Most clients turn up asap when notified their bill is going up daily!

Moral of the story - Get a solid set of terms & conditions and make sure EVERYONE signs it. Unfortunately some people will try to screw you over at every possible opportunity, so you need to be covered.

 

[callthatgirl]

Consider it a $45 dollar lesson, next time get a deposit up front, especially for something that small. Then be sure to have clients sign paperwork before jobs and have them know of your rules, aka....pick up dates, expectations, etc. It will help you down the road. I agree, throw it in a drawer and forget it. Thank god it wasn't $4500.

 

[Vyper28]

Tell her it's been sold, then when she tries to sue meet her at the court house wiht the tablet to collect payment lol

 

[stevieb]

Tell her it's been sold, then when she tries to sue meet her at the court house wiht the tablet to collect payment lol

I was just telling my wife the same thing the other day! Guess I would finally get paid!