should I have to pay or what do I do?

[knightrider]

I took my boat in to get and estimate and possibly fixed. When the boat was dropped off they said that it was in line and would be looked at in a month or so. I told them to call before even looking at to make sure that I still wanted them to look at it. Well after 3 weeks my wifes car died so I spent the money for the boat repair on purchasing a new car for her. I asked my brother to pick the boat up from the repair shop since i could no longer afford to repair it yet. When he went to pick it up they told him that it was almost all repaired. I never recieved a phone call from them. I never gave permision to go ahead with an estimate let alone permission to fix the boat. I never saw or signed a work order and never recieved any kind of phone call. What do I do? Do I have to pay for this? What are my options?

 

[mightymoose]

This may depend on the documentation. If you are certain you never signed any kind of authorization to perform the work then you might be able to make an argument. At the very least you should be on the hook for the initial evaluation and estimate, unless they advertise free estimates.

Do you have the boat back?

If you do, wait for them to send you a bill. If they do send you a bill, document everything, write them a letter explaining why you feel like you should not have to pay. Send a copy of this to the registered agent for the company (the person that handles legal matters) because you will get nowhere dealing with the staff.

If you do not have the boat back, go attempt to get it and see what happens.

In the end you will likely have to pay for the repairs, but you might be allowed to do so on a payment plan rather than all up front. Don't expect to get the boat fixed for free... you will end up paying for it at some point.