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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
   
Location: North Dakota | I cannot wait for 8AM so I can call and rip into somebody.
I made an appt 3 weeks ago to drop my horse trailer off this past Wednesday so have yearly maintenance checks (bearings, suspension, brakes, etc) and to fix two issues. 1) small hole starting in the metal floor 2) back door for the horses is slightly bent and doesn't seal when closed.
I drop my trailer off on Wednesday. The guy at the counter did not come out and look at my trailer to see what I wanted done. He said they "fix that all the time" (referring to the back door) so he knows exactly what needs to be done. They've done work on my husband's pickup before and have always done an excellent job so I figured the guy knew what he was talking about.
They call yesterday (Thursday) around lunch to tell me it is done. Tells me they couldn't find a hole in the floor. Okay. It was a super small hole and if it doesn't need to be fixed yet, that's okay with me. I pay for it over the phone (much higher bill than I was expecting but I suppose that back door was a project) and my hubby was going to pick it up on his way home from work. Hubby is the one with the pickup.
I go look at my trailer after I get done with work and they did NOT fix the door. So now I'm wondering what the h#!! they charged me so much for??? Then I discover they have bent the hardware on the ceiling where my collapsable rear tack wall is supposed to have the pin attach. It's bent up so high that it does not latch anymore.
So basically they charged me so that they could BREAK something and NOT fix what I asked them to fix.
I had hubby look at it this morning to make sure I wasn't crazy and that they did indeed ruin that part. He is as baffled as I am.
I better get some answers when I call them in 15 minutes. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Angle of my picture is bad, but the pin is already all the way up and it can't go into the hole. They bent the hole up. To me, it also looks like fresh grinding marks of some sort, but they would have had to HEAT that piece of metal to bend it up like that.
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 Popped
Posts: 20421
Location: LuluLand~along I64 Indiana | think i would forgo the phone call and borrow hubbys truck and drive to the place with trailer in tow... |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Talked to the body shop. They "forgot to work on the doors".  He had no clue what I am talking about with this pin but it was NOT like that when I brought it in.
Got my receipt and apparently they just charge an arm and a leg for labor. That I can deal with. Better to pay ahead with yearly maintenance to reduce my risk of breaking down on the side of the road. But I won't deal with them breaking stuff!!!
Love my hubby! He's hauling it in right now for me! (Since I can't leave work.) |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | how frustrating, I hope it all works out for you in the end! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1898
| The shop my husband manages charges $94 an hour for labor, but they only do body work and frame work, and they are the cheapest shop in our town so I wasn't surprised when you said the bill was super high. When you picked up the trailer did you get a receipt with the an itemized break down of what was done? Also, from someone who is closely involved in the auto body repair industry, never pay for the repairs until you see the vehicle or trailer. You'll probably **** someone off and they won't let you pick it up until it is paid for but you can sure look at what was and wasn't done before you accept the work.
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | cyount2009 - 2014-03-21 9:27 AM When you picked up the trailer did you get a receipt with the an itemized break down of what was done? Also, from someone who is closely involved in the auto body repair industry, never pay for the repairs until you see the vehicle or trailer. Oh absolutely I take 100% responsibility for not doing that. Because I didn't. Hubby couldn't get there until after they closed and I asked the guy to leave the receipt in the trailer (which he forgot to do). He faxed it over to me right away this morning though. Their labor rate was higher than I would have expected but I also didn't ask what their labor rate was, so I'm fine with it.
I made the decision to go on the "trust train" when I paid for it over the phone yesterday because hubby has always been very happy with them and they have always done good work for him. Work was absolutely insane yesterday and I literally did not have the 40 minutes to drive over there and check it myself before they closed.
I am definately one of the most paranoid people about checking stuff before I pay. I always do that. Of course, the one time I attempt to trust someone because my day was so crazy and I didn't have time, is when something is going to happen. Go figure. Again, my own fault for not checking.
Of course, I also wonder if I would have noticed what they did if I would have picked it up myself at the shop? I was looking very closely at the doors because they didn't look fixed to me, and that's how I saw it. Might have picked it up, saw the receipt, saw they didn't work on it, didn't look at my door, and went home. Who knows.
I'm going over there on my lunch break today (should have time as long as my schedule doesn't change) to make sure things are getting taken care of.
Edited by r_beau 2014-03-21 9:55 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1898
| Boo! Sorry you had such a bad experience! Whether you looked at the trailer before delivery or not does not give them any reason to turn out shoddy work! Shame on the shop for allowing it to go out with damage! As shop manager, my husband inspects every vehicle thoroughly before it enters the shop, making sure that clients are aware of unrelated damage, you would be surprised how many people have no idea they have a dent. Then he checks the word after it is finished before he calls to have it delivered. When the client gets there he asks that they make sure everything is OK before they leave.
Good grief, I am still shocked they "forgot" to work on the doors. That would be like taking a vehicle in with a broken hood latch and having them forget to work on the hood latch! My husband's shop does not accept any job with out an estimate for the owner so there is a least a vague idea of the work that needs done and the total estimated amount of the bill, which is generally pretty close to the actual thing.
Don't be surprised if they say the pin was like that when it came in. I bet they are going to deny-deny-deny they damaged it. Good luck! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
Location: Roping pen | You mentioned that you paid for it over the phone. If you used a credit card, you might look into disputing the payment. That might get their attention.
Looking at the pic, the marks "might" be a rub mark not a grind mark. Grinding on aluminum typically makes it very, very rough, but depends on the tool/abrasive used. Without seeing more of the trailer, hard to "guess" what occured.
Good luck! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
Location: Roping pen | Forgot to add, that typically aluminum welds do not take to bending very well.
If this tab got bent up, you probably would see two things-deflection in the base material and/or the weld cracked. Seeing neither is puzzling to me.
Good luck. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Yeah I thought about the credit card thing but they DID do the maintenance work and I do owe the bill for that.
Yes, I am super baffled too. That pin is ALWAYS in the hole. Where did the marks come from? There's nothing there to rub on it.
It actually is a bit tough to get that pin in and out, because I so infrequently take it out. So that fact that it looks like it looks just does not make sense to me, but I KNOW it was not like that when I dropped my trailer off. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 600
Location: Oklahoma & Texas | I work in management for an insurance company (think Flo) and part of what my employees do is manage repairs for customers that have cars, trucks, trailers etc in the shop. Some things most people dont know is that there is a standard rate that is paid for body shop work - in texas its btwn 40 and 55 dollars an hour - a lot of shops will try and charge cash paying customers more - for the same work - this is somethign that is totally negotiable at the shops by the way. Where i am we pay 50 an hour for body labor and refinish labor (paint time). That being said - am wondering what you were charged for body work - body work is not the same as mechanical labor - mechanical is generally a lot higher - but it doesn't take a mechanic to do bodywork. Second if its aluminum it can be a tad bit more labor time to repair as alum is harder to fix without causing additional damage and it requires its own tools specifically for aluminum... welding has to be done differently b/c can heat up too much and compromise the metal. Aluminum is a self destructive metal and if they use equipment on it that is used on lets say steel repairs adn there is even 1 shred of steel metal that flakes off into the aluminum the aluminum will basically eat itself away... just FYI... Anyway - i would raise holy cain over them charging you for nothing, and not repairing what they agreed to adn now you have been out your trailer that amt of time and have to take it back to fix what was broken to begin with. As far as the latch on the back - i wouldn't be suprised if they did do that to your collapsable tack thinking that is what you were talking about - it does look fresh. Don't let em rip you off ! |
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 Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | The local John Deere's shop charges $110/hour for labor. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I always get a quote done before work begins. This way I know what the shop rate is, and they have in writing everything I want fixed.
I also go around whatever I want fixed while they are doing an assessment.
I hope that you get everything sorted out, but if you are wanting aluminum work, I would quiz a little more and make sure they do aluminum. I know the body shop I use doesn't do aluminum they hire it out.
Also once it leaves their property they can claim the damage was done after it left their property. I hope this doesn't happen to you. This is another reason I make sure I do the once around when I pick it up as well, and get the individual to explain how they fixed it.
Edited by cheryl makofka 2014-03-21 3:48 PM
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