Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
auto body shop problems
To whom it may concern:
We brought our car to a body shop to get repainted after being vandalized. The whole time they had the car, we had problems with them. For example, they lost our key, they broke a part in our door lock etc....When the time came to pick up our car, there was an unexplainable odor in the car, the paint job had bubbles in some parts, the door lock was broken, and our windshield had a crack (about a foot long). We know these problems were not there before we brought it in. We told our insurance this but nobody seems to be able to help us. The shop keeps putting us off saying the parts to repair these have not arrived yet and that our insurance adjustor hasn't called him yet. He wants to charge our insurance for the damages. I do not believe that this is right or honest. I think they did the damages themselves. But now he wants to tell our insurance that it was part of the vandalism. I do not know what to do or who to call. Do I have a legitimate complaint? Please help. Thank you for your time.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: auto body shop problems
First go to a another garage for an estimate of the cost of repairs. You will then be in a position to press forward with your claim.
The DMV has a complaint department. An 800 number should be posted in the body shop or other garage. If nothing else the DMV should be able to tell how many complaints have been filed against this repair facility.
You could also sue in small claims court if the cost of repairs doe not exceed $5,000.00, unless you have filed several small claims court actions during the past 12 months. You should get a judgment in smallclaims court. If you can collect the judgment, you can use it to pay for the repairs.
Re: auto body shop problems
You can also get the repairs done under your insurance policy and let your insurance company worry about collecting from the shop.
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