Locksmith refuses to provide an invoice....

[SunshineDee]

Jurisdiction

South Carolina

After being charged $150 for a 2 second bit of work to open my door, the locksmith wrote a chicken scratch receipt barely readable and handed it to me. My apartment manager would like to get me a refund through the complex but must have a REAL invoice with all the important information to submit to the property owner. (no-one was available to help me or give me a key and so I had a locksmith.) It was 12 degrees outside with ice and snow. I needed to get back inside.

I have called the locksmith office 3 times now and the lady answering the phone promises to contact him and he will email me the invoice., It never happens, no matter times I call the office. What advice would you give me?

 

[adjusterjack]

Write him up on Yelp.

I find that negative reviews get the attention of business owners.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Here is an idea. Send them a demand letter or e-mail. If they cannot provide a proper invoice for you to get a reimbursed after the request, send another demand letter letting them know that you'll sue them in small claims court for the cost of the repair as well as reporting them to the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. That usually prompts action - at least it did for me when I had a similar problem with a vendor.

 

[Tax Counsel]

After being charged $150 for a 2 second bit of work to open my door, the locksmith wrote a chicken scratch receipt barely readable and handed it to me. My apartment manager would like to get me a refund through the complex but must have a REAL invoice with all the important information to submit to the property owner. (no-one was available to help me or give me a key and so I had a locksmith.) It was 12 degrees outside with ice and snow. I needed to get back inside.

I have called the locksmith office 3 times now and the lady answering the phone promises to contact him and he will email me the invoice., It never happens, no matter times I call the office. What advice would you give me?

It's a good practice to see the invoice for these kinds of services before you pay the provider. They'll be a lot more amenable to providing an invoice that's legible and has all the information you need on it.

Threatening to sue the locksmith might get the guy to give you a better invoice/receipt. It might not. But I don't see a good lawsuit against the locksmith for giving you a poor quality invoice. I don't know of any state that mandates a minimum quality for receipts. If your state doesn't have a law like that you have to argue there was a breach of contract. The problem is the contract was for opening the door and the locksmith did that. You'd have to prove that the locksmith knew before doing the work that you were going to seek reimbursement from the landlord for the work done and a good quality invoice was at least an implied provision in the contract. I don't know what evidence you'd have to show that so I can't give you any idea of how likely it is you'd win.

In any event, before spending the time and effort to sue (if you have a good case for that) I suggest you take up Michael's suggestion of contacting the Department of Consumer Affairs. Business owners don't want to deal with government agencies over this kind of problem. It's just easier and cheaper to give you a good invoice and make the problem go away.

 

[Zigner]

The problem appears to me that the locksmith did provide an invoice. Now, the OP is asking for a favor.
The OP needs to provide evidence of the service being provided and the amount that was paid in order to be reimbursed. The OP did that. Now, the OP's beef is with the management company for not accepting it and any (legal) action for the OP to take would be against the management/complex.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

It's a good practice to see the invoice for these kinds of services before you pay the provider. They'll be a lot more amenable to providing an invoice that's legible and has all the information you need on it.

Threatening to sue the locksmith might get the guy to give you a better invoice/receipt. It might not. But I don't see a good lawsuit against the locksmith for giving you a poor quality invoice. I don't know of any state that mandates a minimum quality for receipts. If your state doesn't have a law like that you have to argue there was a breach of contract. The problem is the contract was for opening the door and the locksmith did that. You'd have to prove that the locksmith knew before doing the work that you were going to seek reimbursement from the landlord for the work done and a good quality invoice was at least an implied provision in the contract. I don't know what evidence you'd have to show that so I can't give you any idea of how likely it is you'd win.

In any event, before spending the time and effort to sue (if you have a good case for that) I suggest you take up Michael's suggestion of contacting the Department of Consumer Affairs. Business owners don't want to deal with government agencies over this kind of problem. It's just easier and cheaper to give you a good invoice and make the problem go away.

Great points, as usual. A lawsuit for a relatively small amount is rarely ever a good investment in time and it certainly isn't for $150. As to whether one would win in court is a good textbook exercise. But it is something I'd mention as a possible alternative remedy to induce movement on something simple that shouldn't take 3-4 minutes at most - to provide a legible invoice. If they have activity in social media (such as Yelp, Google Business, Facebook), mentioning leaving an honest review about their lack of responsiveness usually works very well.

The problem appears to me that the locksmith did provide an invoice. Now, the OP is asking for a favor.
The OP needs to provide evidence of the service being provided and the amount that was paid in order to be reimbursed. The OP did that. Now, the OP's beef is with the management company for not accepting it and any (legal) action for the OP to take would be against the management/complex.

I wouldn't look at it as a "favor" but as a reasonable consumer expectation. The OP should have looked at the invoice when written to make sure it was adequate but may have assumed it was done properly. The discussion on legal responsibility here is completely academic. I don't think this is a bona fide issue for any court and is more a social and professional responsibility issue to be addressed. Hence consumer affairs and reminders about social media are probably the optimal path to take, mentioning the legal avenue to add emphasis to just perform a simple request.