posted
I need some quick advice on small claims court if anyone can help.
I am supposed to finally finishing the wall in my backyard today. I have a Bobcat sitting out front and I've got a pallet of sod waiting to be laid on the new fill. What I don't have is the dirt that was supposed to be delivered yesterday.
The girl at the company I've been speaking to all morning tells me that it was scheduled for yesterday and she doesn't know what happened. However, the owner is not there and no one can make any decisions without his approval. He, of course, is not answering his phone.
Not counting that I already have plans tomorrow that can't be broken, it is supposed to rain all day on Sunday. This is my only day to do this.
I definitely don't want to go to court over the $300 I've already spent on the equipment, but is this a threat I can leave on his phone? I don't even wanted to threaten that, but I also really don't want to be out $300 for someone else's mistake.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
How much are you paying for the dirt? At a minimum, you should be able to negotiate 1/2 of the $300 off the bill--hopefully you could get the entire $300 back. Start out polite.
Have you already paid to have the dirt delivered? How much? Is there a contract?
If you haven't paid yet, one tactic you could use would be to either deduct 300 from the dirt bill, or not pay at all today or whenever it's delivered. This forces the dirt guy to call you to get his money, and puts you in a favorable bargaining position, as you would have the dirt, and he would have to negotiate with you to get paid.
Even if he sues you, you might win your $300, especially if you paid the balance.
Beware though: if it gets ugly he might be able to get a small lien on you house if you don't pay up. This could screw up a sale or mortgage refi.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Farmgirl makes a good point:if you can get it from somewhere else, you could cancel/refuse delivery from the 1st guy.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:but is this a threat [to sue] I can leave on his phone? I don't even wanted to threaten that
Tough call. It could motivate them, or make sure they blow you off. Threats to sue are risky. And common in real estate. Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Alas, I was going to do it last weekend, but every company that delivers dirt was already booked a week in advance. I went ahead a made arrangements for this on 4/21. I called a few places and they had to stop themselves from laughing when I asked if they could deliver today.
The dirt place has already billed my card for about $140. I've been assuming I would have no problem getting that refunded if they don't deliver. The $300 is for the Bobcat that is sitting unused and the sod that might not last til next weekend.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
I'm not sure if you would win $300 in small claims. Maybe you could try to return the Bobcat early and try to minimize your damages??
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:However, the owner is not there and no one can make any decisions without his approval.
The first and most critical step is getting through to the decision maker. You have got to do that to get anything done today.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
They finally called back. The receptionist was never able to contact the owner and finally took it upon herself to call someone in (who had the day off) to deliver the dirt. I'm glad she did but still irritated it took so long. If the business is open, somebody needs to be there who can make decisions.
Bookwyrm, that was good advice. I agree that would have been better than threatening court. I think that would have been my next step.
Morbo, I also would have tried to negotiate with the Bobcat people to cut some off the bill since it wouldn't have been used.
Thanks for the help everyone. I love this place .
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Now that the problem is solved, I can weigh in. (Sorry - I had nothing practical to add outside of legal advice, and I didn't think a your going to see a lawyer was worth it.)
It might be hard to collect the wasted Bobcat and sod money from the dirt vendor. Although someone breaching a contract is responsible for the harm, only foreseeable harm is considered. The classic case involved the delivery of a millshaft in England. The shaft was late, and the whole mill was shut down due to the delay. Lost profits were not recoverable because a shipper doesn't set his price with the profits of an entire mill in mind.
If someone has the potential for unusually high damages in the event of breach, it is their responsibility to make the other party aware. Then the cost of the risk can be bargained between the two parties.
Now, it's not clear which side of the foreseeability divide your case falls under. You likely had the right to void the contract, or to have him reimburse you if you had paid extra from another vendor for same-day delivery. You may have had the right to recover for the bobcat and sod costs. But it's not a slam dunk case in your favor.
The question is likely highly state dependent as well.
posted
To finish my saga, after being assured at 11:30 am by the kind woman at their office that dirt was on the way, we began to wait. And wait. And wait. About 2, I began calling again, but never spoke with anyone at their office again. Their answering service began picking up at that point. The answering service told me that, yes, the office was still open and that they were faxing over my messages as soon as I left them.
The dirt finally showed up at 5:30. The driver told me he was a subcontractor who had agreed to take this delivery for them. He was not an employee who came in on his day off. He never told them he would deliver my dirt immediately, just that he would get it done before the day was over.
Luckily, between several frantic hours on Saturday and a rainfree Sunday afternoon, we were able to get the work done. We now have 15 more feet of backyard, which doesn't sound like much unless you've got a small backyard to begin with.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Now is the time to call the office and get an appointment with the manager. Explain the incovnenience, explain why you arranged to have it delivered a day early, and exactly what it cost you in time. Remind him that they broke two promises to you - to deliver Friday, and to deliver in 2 hours. Tell them the subcontractor was never told a delivery time - they didn't even try to keep the second promise.
Then ask for something - reimbursement of 10%, or a credit for future service, etc.
Don't threaten a lawsuit. Just make it clear that you are an unsatisfied customer and that you are giving them a chance to make it right.
Dagonee P.S., 15 feet is a lot of yard. I hope you enjoy it. Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm not going to pursue getting any money out of him. I will probably call and let him know what lousy service they provide and make a point of telling people not to do business with him. I'm not out any money, because we were able to get the work done before the Bobcat had to go back and it didn't rain all day Sunday. Because they are closed on weekends, the Bobcat was still considered a one-day rental.
Based on what you said previously, Dag, I think I might have had a case if the dirt had never come. I think it was reasonable to expect that I would have some type of equipment rented to move 6 cubic yards of dirt. And I believe I was specific when I ordered it as to the day I wanted it delivered because I would be using it the next day.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
Nothing that went on sounds unusual to me. Any contractor would tell you that dealing with suppliers and getting things delivered on time is the most frustrating part of their job.
I can assure you, that company that delivers dirt has jobs much more important than your 170 dollar order and doesn't really care if you're happy or not. Sorry, just the way it is. Things happen, stuff doesn't get delivered on time, jobs get delayed.
One thing you should know is never pay for anything before it's delivered. You probably would have come out cheaper had you rented a truck, gone to the place and picked up the dirt yourself. Most of that $170 is because they had to deliver it to you. Then you would have controlled the time of the delivery and been able to schedule better.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:I can assure you, that company that delivers dirt has jobs much more important than your 170 dollar order and doesn't really care if you're happy or not.
I had a vendor treat us this way once - after all, we bought maybe 8-10 computers a year.
Guess what happened when a 500+ person non-profit asked us to recommend a vendor to them? I took way more satisfaction out of that than I should have.
quote:I can assure you, that company that delivers dirt has jobs much more important than your 170 dollar order and doesn't really care if you're happy or not. Sorry, just the way it is. Things happen, stuff doesn't get delivered on time, jobs get delayed.
Yeah, I know that's the reason. The one-shot homeowner is going to get bumped the minute somebody bigger needs something done.
The part that really stinks is that no one called to tell me. I'm very familiar with construction and deal with contractors all the time, so I know about delays. It does happen, but it's very unprofessional to not let someone know. I even called Friday morning to confirm.
If anyone ever needs any landscape work done in the Central Florida area, do NOT choose Orlandoscape.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
.
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
