Legal Issues

A lot can happen in 5 minutes after leaving the shop, let alone 5 days!
 
I was looking back and he actually notified me 6 days after i had touched his car like it has been said a LOT can happen in 6 days....he is also using the premise that i used a picture of his car that i took on my website as grounds for a lawsuit....speaking of that i do a decent amount of high end cars....just did a Lexus L600H L today. Also attached is a picture of a 1200Hp ZR1 I ceramic coated along with the RV behind it was done also.
 
I never show plates and cover them with my own custom plate, just in case. Maybe a photo waiver might be in order??

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Compulsive Detail said:
The picture with his car had no identifiable information on my site.
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So from what I read you can legally take a picture of the car but you cannot legally publish it without the permission of the owner

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Don't respond to him, he'll use anything you send him against you. See him in court.
 
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE! IT"S WHAT I DO DO.

If you think this dude is really going to take you to small claims, and you are in the right, I would ignore him, and if he calls, tell him once he threatens legal action, it's out of your hands. Your offer to help in some way still stands, but that's all you will do. If he then processes a court action, you will stand a 50/50 chance of winning. Maybe a better chance, but don't count on anything. Be honest and positive, and very humble in the court. If he has been slanderous to you with people, be sure to get witnesses, and counter sue for defamation of character, and harmful persecution, if your state has statutes for it. A threat of counter action may shut him up, or piss him off.
If your right, defend it! Get a lawyer if you really want to wake this guy up. You can probably swap detailing fees for legal fees. Good luck.
 
Offering to help or fix it can be construed as admitting guilt. Just ignore the guy and if he files a case in small claims court go have your day in court.

I would suggest you start doing a pre and post walk around with any customers you take money from for detailing services in the future and have them sign the post walk around when you are done. If you had that this would be a none issue. An ounce of prevention so to speak. :props:
 
custmsprty said:
Offering to help or fix it can be construed as admitting guilt. Just ignore the guy and if he files a case in small claims court go have your day in court.

I would suggest you start doing a pre and post walk around with any customers you take money from for detailing services in the future and have them sign the post walk around when you are done. If you had that this would be a none issue. An ounce of prevention so to speak. :props:
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He has already offered to help. He mentioned that in the original post. That offer he needs to stand behind. But, I would not make any more. A judge would probably see that as an obvious first step to resolution. However, the client chose to ignore the offer, and go for the money his wife didn't know he spent, according to the op's post. If he was that concerned about his car, he would probably have accepted the offer. But personally, I would stop any contact or conversations with this guy. If he won a car show after the detail and before the threats, this guy may not have much of a case. I don't think he has a leg to stand on in a court. That's is just my humble opinion!

And yes, a pre and post inspection with the client is a wise move. Always take pictures of the vehicle, or whatever, before and after. Get the signature on paper!
 
rangerbay said:
He has already offered to help. He mentioned that in the original post. That offer he needs to stand behind. But, I would not make any offer beyond standing behind what he originally offered. A judge would probably see that as an obvious first step to resolution. However, he chose to ignore the offer, and go for the money his wife didn't know he spent, according to the op's post. If he was that concerned about his car, he would probably have accepted the offer. But personally, I would stop any contact or conversations with this guy. If he won a car show after the detail and before the threats, this guy is really treading in deep doo-doo. I don't think he has a leg to stand on in a court. That's is just my humble opinion!
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I know that I was just reiterating it so as not to offer it again. And he has absolutley no legal obligation to stand behind the offer since he did not do the damage to the vehicle.
 
Thanks guys for all the help! I intend to be more active around this forum but i tend to be busier then most i'm a one man show!!!!
 
custmsprty said:
I know that I was just reiterating it so as not to offer it again. And he has absolutley no legal obligation to stand behind the offer since he did not do the damage to the vehicle.
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I agree 100%. I hope compulsive detail does not get discouraged from this, it's just part of doing business. Pictures and signatures, CD!
 
I just asked my wife, an attorney, and she said the guy has to prove that you did cause the damage, but since he took it to a show and did not mention it when he picked up the car, he is screwed. She says there is nothing to worry about since his job is way harder than yours. It will be pretty hard to prove that you did do it since he's had it for days after the actual work was done.

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DETAILROOKIE said:
I just asked my wife, an attorney, and she said the guy has to prove that you did cause the damage, but since he took it to a show and did not mention it when he picked up the car, he is screwed. She says there is nothing to worry about since his job is way harder than yours. It will be pretty hard to prove that you did do it since he's had it for days after the actual work was done.

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Exactly, burden of proof is on him.
 
I'm not discouraged i work on 100k+ cars every day no issues he wanted to pay cash. There for i didnt provide an invoice or recipt
 
Have legal intern experience but no lawyer. As said above, its basically burden of proof being in his court. He has no receipt or record of you actually scratching the car. Do not contact him more
 
< --- Not a lawyer, but a 26 year LEO veteran

As you are in Ohio, there is no law stating that BOTH parties must be aware that a conversation is being recorded. As long as one of the two persons on the telephone are doing the recording OR one of the two parties is aware a third party is recording the conversation it is legal in court.

That being said: as others have stated, do not contact him for any reason, let him contact you and record/keep everything. Personally, I would take what you already have to my own lawyer and say that this guy is trying to blackmail me - which is what he is doing.
 
Sorry to read about your situation.

I only had something like this happen to me once since I started in 2013. The guy called me the day after the detail and told me I ripped off a part of his Paint Protection Film on the door. I explained to him that was impossible since I did not work on the PPF at all. He continued to argue it was fine before the detail and now it wasn't on the car anymore. The PPF in question was black covering a chrome part. After looking at the before and after pictures, it wasn't on the car before I started the detail. So I sent him the pictures as proof. His reaction was: "Why did you take pictures?" Right there I knew he was trying to scam me! He then said his wife confirmed it was missing before the detail... he got caught in a lie and found a honorable way out. Thank god for pictures!

In your case, I would too go to court. There is no way he can prove you damaged the car when he let 4 to 6 days pass before contacting you. For all you know, a kid could have damaged the car while playing. I would not worry too much about this. As for putting pictures of his car on your site without permission, I really doubt there is a law against that. I know that here in Quebec, you need permission to film or photograph someone unless it is in a public area. Laws vary from plate to place but that is probably the same where you live. As for objects like a car, I can't see how there could be a law against that if the owner cannot be identified from the picture (so no address, name, or license plate). But you could verify with a lawyer about the laws where you live.
 
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