Ok here is the story
I own a small computer shop in Alabama. We got a call from a local police department to come out and pick up a printer and service it. We arrive and see some one has taken a can of air and tried to spray out the printer only to blow toner through the whole system. So the system must be disassembled and cleaned throughly. We inform the police department it will be a costly job to disassemble the printer and clean everything in it. We are told it doesn't matter just get it fixed.
3 days later the printer is fixed and ready to go back to the police department. They come to the shop to inspect it and pick it up. We hook it up and print with it to show them it works properly. They are happy and sign the bill.
Now everythings going great until they go to load the printer up. The first thing we notice is they load the printer up in the back of a truck with no padding. Just 150 pounds of plastic on steel. We even ask if they were going to put padding under it for the 15 mile trip back to the police station and they reply "no".
They get it back to the station and cant get it to print , so one of my technicians go the the police department to hook it up for them. He gets there and sure enough they cant print, one of the gears in the paper tray is broken. So he sets it up to print from the top , so they can still use it .
Now almost 3 months later they wont pay their bill. I have tried to talk to the chief and he says it isn't working hes not paying for it. I tried reasoning with him and even negotiating with him , but to no avail.
My question is :
If a representive of the police department enlist a service or is told to pick something up and signs a bill approving cost , Is the police department liable?
Do you feel I have grounds for a small claims court?
I own a small computer shop in Alabama. We got a call from a local police department to come out and pick up a printer and service it. We arrive and see some one has taken a can of air and tried to spray out the printer only to blow toner through the whole system. So the system must be disassembled and cleaned throughly. We inform the police department it will be a costly job to disassemble the printer and clean everything in it. We are told it doesn't matter just get it fixed.
3 days later the printer is fixed and ready to go back to the police department. They come to the shop to inspect it and pick it up. We hook it up and print with it to show them it works properly. They are happy and sign the bill.
Now everythings going great until they go to load the printer up. The first thing we notice is they load the printer up in the back of a truck with no padding. Just 150 pounds of plastic on steel. We even ask if they were going to put padding under it for the 15 mile trip back to the police station and they reply "no".
They get it back to the station and cant get it to print , so one of my technicians go the the police department to hook it up for them. He gets there and sure enough they cant print, one of the gears in the paper tray is broken. So he sets it up to print from the top , so they can still use it .
Now almost 3 months later they wont pay their bill. I have tried to talk to the chief and he says it isn't working hes not paying for it. I tried reasoning with him and even negotiating with him , but to no avail.
My question is :
If a representive of the police department enlist a service or is told to pick something up and signs a bill approving cost , Is the police department liable?
Do you feel I have grounds for a small claims court?
